It was supposed to be easy
by headinthecloudsgirl
Summary: It was supposed to be easy. Block an arms dealing, catch the bad guys, go home and have a beer. But when the operation gets slightly out of control and an injured Deeks comes to the fore of a cartel, it changes everything. Will the team be able to protect him? Involves the whole team but focuses slightly on Deeks and Kensi. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome back to those who know me, hi to the rest :)**

**Okay, this is something I had in my head for a really long time and finally wrote it down, first in German, now in English. If you guys are interested in it, I'll try to update every weekend, but I can't promise anything because I need to finish the German version as well as translate it somewhere between school and homework :D**

**Disclaimers as usual, I own nothing, just play with it.**

**Huge thanks to my wonderful beta Kensi54382!**

* * *

The team of NCIS: Office of Special Projects had finally, after what seemed like never-ending undercover operations, gotten a lead concerning arms trafficking which cost a Marine his life. They finally had a foot in the door. Just a few hours ago the location of where the cartel was hiding the weapons that they wanted to sell got known so that the team had to take their chance in haste. If they waited too long, the weapons would be gone and with that every chance to block the selling. Even if Hetty didn't like it, she had to accept the plan of G Callen to go onto the wrecking yard without a SWAT team. The men of the cartel were way too attentive to overlook a big truck with the label SWAT on it without making a run for it. Four agents in two inconspicuous cars were the better choice.

Deeks, Kensi, Sam and Callen got out of their cars, each with a Kevlar vest, machine gun and their small arm. According to Eric and Nell there were only five men on the wrecking yard but the exact positions were unknown due to insufficient overview, despite several cameras. There were just too many blind angles.

"Sam and I take the storage unit from the left, you two from the right. First priority is the securing of the weapons, lethal actions are authorized," Callen said and, after a short nod from Kensi and Deeks, he and Sam raised their guns and sneaked away.

"Well then, let's go," Deeks said and pushed his blond hair from his face before he raised his gun as well and propped it against his shoulder.

Kensi suppressed a small grin; that gesture together with the wrinkling of his nose was a typical tell for Deeks when it got serious. It seemed like he pushed all sorrows and unimportant thoughts away and concentrated solely on the task he had to fulfil. He and Kensi slowly made their way along the stacked car wrecks waiting for any kind of danger after every curve and because of that, they were feeling extremely tense. The gravel beneath their feet made noise, no matter how carefully they moved.

After what seemed like the umpteenth bend of the stacked wrecks, they stood on a gravel area on which a warehouse rose into the sky. The simple building, looking like it was made out of nothing but corrugated iron and some rivets, seemed - as well as the gravel area - empty. It seemed like they or something else spooked the men from the cartel, but only recently since there was a laptop next to left stack of cars.

Deeks signalled his partner with his fingers that he wanted to take a look at it and took off, weapon still at the ready. While walking, he whispered into the microphone on his Kevlar vest, "Eric, we have a laptop, could you check it? IP-address is…"

He wasn't able to end the sentence. A blinding pain shot through his body and his legs gave in. He noticed that he fell towards the car wrecks and as his temple crashed against a former fender, the world went black.

* * *

Kensi noticed the reflection of a rifle, belonging to a sniper who was on the rooftop of the warehouse, just milliseconds before the shot rang out. Even before she was able to take a breath to call out for Deeks, she watched as his right knee was hit by the bullet and the leg gave in, as the blood had already sprinkled the ground. Kensi was able to catch a glimpse of her partner's face, grimacing in pain, before he hit his head on a car and sank to the ground. Her eyes widened before she tried to get rid of the shock settling in her body, her hands gripping her machine gun which was hanging on her shoulder. Kensi knew that it was far too dangerous to get Deeks herself since she was sure the sniper wouldn't hesitate to shoot at her as well.

"Sam, Callen, Deeks has been hit; I need help here, now! Eric, call an ambulance!" she shouted into her microphone and could only hope that Sam and Callen would come to her soon.

What could she do? She was caught at her momentary position and could neither eliminate the shooter, nor help Deeks. If they wasted too much time, he could possibly bleed to death. Kensi glanced again at her partner who was laying unconscious on the dirty ground while the pool of blood around his knee got bigger and bigger. Once more, she noticed the reflection on the roof and fired at it, but despite her fast reflexes, she couldn't avoid the laptop as well as the area around Deeks' body being hit several times. She would not allow the sniper to kill her partner. Not here, not now, not ever.

He had always tried to protect her and even with his sometimes more than annoying one-liners he meant too much to her – their "thing" meant too much to her. Kensi remembered being asked by Astrid if she loved her partner and the way she avoided to answer. What feelings were normal towards somebody you worked with every day and whom you trusted with your life? The moment she reloaded her gun, Kensi heard the steps of two men behind her, recognizing them as Sam and Callen's.

"The shot came from the roof," she called out to them and shot again in the direction she suspected the attacker.

"Kensi, you go back a bit until you're behind the cars so that you can take care of Deeks. G, you'll cover me," Sam decided and started running in the same moment with Callen taking care of the shooter.

Once Sam had reached Deeks, he took him by the Kevlar vest and pulled him over the ground back to Kensi who had gone back enough to be out of the sniper's reach. Sam had seen a lot as a former SEAL and had experienced probably just as much, but he still felt adrenalin pounding through his veins. One never got used to seeing injured men, especially not when you worked with them.

While running backwards Sam tried to pull Deeks in way that wouldn't leave his injured head dragging over the gravel. Both the head wound and the knee left a small trail of blood in the dirt. When Sam finally reached Kensi, he carefully let go of Deeks and raised his gun again.

"We take care of the rest of the men, you of Deeks!" was the clear order of Callen to Kensi, already running away.

Kensi closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. She had to act with a clear head and had to try to provide as much first aid as she could offer to Deeks. He had a cut at his temple from when he had come in contact with the wreck, blood trickling down into his gold locks. What was much more worrying was his knee. The beige pants were soaked with dark red blood and she couldn't see an exit wound. The bullet had to be somewhere in his knee and that meant there was probably a lot of damage. It seemed like Deeks had a concussion as well, because he hadn't regained consciousness yet.

"Deeks?" Kensi asked and ran her thumb over his cheek.

"Deeks, come on. Open your eyes!"

When his eyelids finally fluttered, it took a load off her mind – but the relief only lasted for a few seconds. Deeks took a breath with a start and then clenched his teeth. His whole body got rigid because of the pain.

"Kensi…what?" he stammered.

Immediately Kensi wished he would lose consciousness again so that he wouldn't feel the pain.

"Deep breath, it's going to be okay," she tried to calm him and grabbed his hand which lay next to him, clenched in a fist, slipped her fingers between his and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"Try to breathe slowly, okay? We'll get you fixed."

Deeks moaned again and pressed his free hand onto his eyes.

"I can't feel my right leg, Kens. God…"

Kensi smiled at him and then glanced at the knee which she tried to shield from his view. If Deeks saw why he couldn't feel his leg, she guessed it wouldn't do him good.

"Eric? Where is that ambulance?"

Both sitting in ops, Eric and Nell couldn't do anything but to stare at what was happening on their screens.

"On its way. ETA just over a minute," Eric answered and looked over to Nell.

Even this minute could stretch into eternity.

"You hear that, partner? Help will be here in a minute," Kensi murmured and stroked once more his cheek.

She saw that he was trying not to make any sound and her heart ached at the sight of it. Deeks always had something to say, even in the most critical and inappropriate times there were some kind of comment on his lips. He grew paler by each passing second and Kensi felt confirmed that he had a concussion although she was surprised by how fast the effects started to show. The impact must have been really hard.

"If you're going to be sick, tell me, okay?" Kensi asked and knew all too well how a concussion with all its side effects felt like.

She had lost count of how often she had been knocked out, had woken up with one hell of a headache and then had thrown up into anything she'd been able to reach. Her partner gave a short nod before he concentrated on controlling his breathing once again. Kensi could hear the sirens by now and just as she wanted to tell Deeks, she heard another shot before Sam's voice in her ear. "We got everyone and secured the guns, Kensi. We're coming back down to you."

Just as the Agents were running to Kensi and Deeks, they saw the ambulance turning onto the wrecking yard.

"Follow me!" Callen shouted and ran ahead of them.

When he saw Kensi's dark hair, he also saw Deeks laying on the ground who held on to her hand for dear life. The ambulance came with a jerk to a stop and two EMTs exited it, rolling a gurney next to them.

"What happened, agents?" one of them asked while the other one was undressing Deeks from his Kevlar vest and his shirt to hook him to the ECG.

"Detective Deeks has been shot in his knee, as he fell he hit his head and was unconscious for some time. He says he can't feel his leg," Kensi summarized as shortly as possible.

As she said the last few words, one paramedic cut open the pants and took a look at the knee.

"If we have bad luck, the artery supplying the leg with blood has been nicked. The cruciate ligament and patella have been damaged, femur and meniscus probably too," he guessed and for Kensi it seemed like everything that could possibly break was broken.

"Detective? Do you have any allergies?"

Deeks shook his head and hoped for drugs, some pain medication, which he got immediately. Not even a minute later, he was loaded into the ambulance, his hand still in Kensi's.

"Agent Blye, we'd like to anesthetize your colleague. From what we can tell from his injury, he must be in extreme pain," the paramedic told her and injected Deeks after she nodded with a clear liquid.

Just a short time later, the face of her partner relaxed and also his hand she still held in hers grew limb. She held on to him nevertheless.

* * *

**A/N: So, what do you think? Shall I continue the translating? Interesting enough?**

**I know the start was quite sudden, because it started as a one-shot, and I had to build a plot in a paragraph :) I assure you, the storyline keeps getting better and more thorough!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here I am again :) Thanks a lot for all the encouraging reviews! I hope I answered everyone - if not then sorry, I must have missed you **

**I thought I'd post a day early due to the reviews - to avoid any confusion that may form: when I speak of days, I mean days in my time zone :) Just so you know and don't wonder when I'm a day late or early - depends on where you are :)**

**As always huge huge thanks to my beta Kensi54382! Also as usual - not mine**

**Yup, I'm done talking... Enjoy!**

* * *

Henrietta "Hetty" Lange stood by now next to Nell and Eric, who were still in front of their computer screens. None of them really had processed that Deeks had been shot.

"Mr Beal, Miss Jones, is there any news concerning Mr Deeks' condition?" Hetty asked as professionally as ever while folding her hands behind her back.

Even as the small person she was, Hetty still held an aura of authority which intimidated even the hardest and most self-confident agents. The two analysts shook their heads and Eric looked at his boss through his glasses.

"No, nothing new. The ambulance arrived at Pacific Beach Medical and Deeks is on his way to the OR, but no one can tell what consequences the shot will have. It depends mostly on the size of the bullet and if it damaged the blood supply of his lower leg."

Eric didn't need to end the thought, all three of them knew what a shortage of blood meant - and still Hetty said it out loud.

"So he could lose his leg when the worst case happens."

* * *

Kensi stood at the large window façade near the operating rooms of the hospital. In her hands she held Deeks' badge and his watch, just like almost two years ago when he had been shot two times in the chest. When he still had been in the ambulance, the cut on his head had been glued as well as possible and his leg had been secured in a vacuum splint. The doctor had explained to Kensi that Deeks' kneecap seemed to be shattered, the cruciate ligament at least partly torn and one or both of the menisci must have sustained some damage and through the immobilization they wanted to avoid the fragments from shifting.

The bullet had entered the knee from above and because of the shattered patella, it seemed like it missed the femur, but the doctors wouldn't confirm without x-rays and an MRI. Just as little, they wanted to say if the blood supplying was still working or not.

Kensi stroked the badge of her partner lost in thoughts and jerked as her cell phone vibrated in her pocket.

"Hey, Callen," she answered and looked out of the window.

"Any news on Deeks?" she heard the voice of her colleague and knew he called from ops with speaker function, because she heard voices in the background.

"No, not yet. The doctor said his kneecap was broken several times and there was some damage to the rest of the knee, but he wouldn't tie himself down to it. Have you got anything about the shooter?"

"Some guy called Julio Lopez, member of the cartel. He shot at Deeks with a SIG 550-1 from the roof of the warehouse, about four hundred meters away from Deeks. The weapon has a small calibre, 5.56 millimetres times 45 millimetres. We can call ourselves lucky that he didn't have another rifle or Deeks' knee would look even worse," Sam said.

Kensi exhaled internally, she had feared that a bullet of eight or nine centimetres was stuck in her partner's knee. Just as she wanted to reply, the doors to the OR opened and she recognized the blonde hair the second she saw it.

"He's coming out of the OR, I'll call you back." Kensi ended the call and walked towards the nurses rolling Deeks' bed.

His hair was tousled and still bloody from the cut, around which was by now a dark bruise. He was supplied with oxygen via a nasal cannula and an IV-line ended in the back of his hand.

"Special Agent Blye, NCIS. How is he?" Kensi asked a young woman who was walking a bit behind the rest.

"Dr. Julie Edwards. I'm the surgeon who operated on him," she introduced herself before answering Kensi's question. "The damage to Detective Deeks' knee is not as bad as we anticipated. The anterior meniscus was torn, but at the capsule so that we were able to stitch it. The cruciate ligament is just slightly damaged, physical therapy should be enough here. He was lucky in that point, because an operation would only be possible after six to eight weeks after the accident and it would have been extremely complicated with the damaged meniscus. This way, there is missing a whole lot of stability but it's a small price we have to pay. The multiple fractures of the patella were fixed with a tension-band wiring technique with additional axial wires. This means there are several wires in the knee of the detective which make mobility possible. Because of the multiple injuries, we're not able to access the normal methods of treatment, but had to find a compromise, which of course isn't the best option for all of the injuries. We will have to wait to see if there will be a full regeneration, but the odds aren't too bad. Aside from the knee, we induced a CAT-scan of his brain to make sure there is no damage from the impact on the car. The results look fine, no swelling, no internal bleeding and no laceration of the dura mater so we can assume that your colleague only needs to deal with the normal effects of a first degree intracranial injury. These effects are most commonly headaches, dizziness and nausea – so no worries if he vomits, with his form of head injury it is considered normal. There is also the possibility of anterograde amnesia which would mean he has no recollection of the accident."

Kensi tried to understand the ton of information she had been given and tried to bring order to it. It seemed like a lot got broken but in a treatable way. There was one thing the surgeon had left unanswered though.

"What about the blood supplying of his lower leg?"

"We were able to fix it."

When that sentence was said, relief washed over Kensi.

"May I stay with him?" she asked and stared after the nurses who just turned around a corner.

"Of course, but I have to warn you, he'll be in pain. Still I guess a face he knows will calm him. I'll take you to him," Dr. Edwards smiled at Kensi before something else came to her mind.

"We applied a brace on your partner's knee to keep it immobilized. The decision wasn't too easy as every injury normally requires a different one; the meniscal tear a straight brace, the torn ligament with a 10° bent one and a multiple break of the patella requires a plaster cast. We finally decided on an intermediate form of the braces. As you can surely imagine, it isn't the best solution and it may lead to complications during the healing process. As soon as Detective Deeks is allowed to put weight onto his leg, like in six to eight weeks, we'd like to switch to a straight brace. It protects the meniscus but not the other parts of his knee. In case that is too painful, the bent brace needs to stay. You see, Agent Blye that we can only experiment."

Kensi nodded and found herself a short time after the conversation next to the bed of Deeks, who was by now hooked up to a heart monitor. After closing the curtains around his bed, she sank onto an uncomfortable chair next to him, took a deep breath and then looked over him. His head has lolled to one side and she could make out the brace around his knee, hidden beneath the blanket. For the second time today, she grabbed his hand that was lying lifeless next to his body; stroked the back of his hand while fumbling with the other one for her cell phone. Once she found it, she called Eric.

"Yo."

"Hey, Eric. Are the others anywhere near?" Kensi asked and heard Eric whistling on his fingers.

"They'll be here in a moment. I put you on speaker."

Kensi listened to the steps of the rest of the team and then to Hetty's voice.

"Miss Blye, how is he?"

"Hi, Hetty. All in all there was a lot of damage, but the doctors got it all stitched up. You should get an exact file this moment," Kensi answered and heard a few seconds later how one of the computers made a sound before Nell opened the file and read it out loud. After her voice had faded, Hetty spoke up again.

"There are new developments, Mr Callen?"

"Right. The shooter, Julio Lopez, is sitting with a graze in the boat shed and twittered like a bird. There are more deliveries; our investigations haven't come to an end yet. The one we blocked was only the second of at least seven. With Julio's help, we can get the head of the trafficking cartel."

"Okay, that's great," Kensi said and knew what was coming next.

"We need you in ops to plan the next steps," she heard Sam but before she could reply, Hetty intervened.

"I think, Mr Hanna that you'll be able to plan without Miss Blye. Her partner needs her right now."

Kensi frowned. Normally, it was Hetty who wanted all agents working together. She had the feeling that Hetty somehow knew about the thing between her and Deeks.

Before anyone was able to react to Hetty's statement, Kensi hurried to ask, "What about the laptop from the wrecking yard? Is there any relevant information on it?"

"The sniper hit the motherboard several times, there was nothing Eric and I could have done. If there was relevant information, we're not going to get it, because Julio said he doesn't know what was on it. He only knows that the financial operation was done with it," Nell answered and when she ended, all of the agents realized something.

"Deeks was the last one to see the laptop. He may have seen something important," Callen said and stared at the pictures of the cameras from the wrecking yard, which were running in a continuous loop on the huge screens.

Sam narrowed his eyes and said what everyone was thinking, "Let's assume there were more than five people there and one of them saw Deeks at the laptop…"

"They would want to see him dead at all costs," Callen ended Sam's sentence.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Okay, opinions? :)**

**All that medical stuff I researched, hope I got it all right, if not, tell me and I'll correct it**

**See you guys next weekend**

**Oh and btw: ****_you are amazing!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry I'm a day late! This chapter will be a little bit longer than the rest - see it as an excuse for the delay :D**

**Oh if you're wondering: I still don't own this show... and huge thanks to my beta and huge thanks for reviews, favs and follows :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Kensi was still sitting next to her partner's bed and listened to the monotone beeping of the heart monitor. There had been no argument that Deeks needed to be brought somewhere safer than a public hospital – when dealing with a mixture of weapons and arms dealing then an LAPD protection detail in front of the hospital wouldn't be enough.

The team literally had no idea whom they were looking for, the only information they had from Eric was that a red Pick-Up had left the wrecking yard after the shooting. Kensi had talked to Dr. Edwards who wasn't pleased with discharging Deeks after the obliged forty-eight hours, but she couldn't disrespect an order from a Federal Agent so she had agreed to it in the end. During these two days, Kensi should learn as much as possible about the knee injury and about the tending of it in order to take care of Deeks when there was no nurse in reach. Kensi had agreed to it immediately and had looked through the doses of painkillers, the mixing of medications and the tending of the stitches before she had slumped onto the chair at Deeks' side once more.

By now, she had a bowl with warm water and a sponge in her hands and tried to wash the dried blood out of the blonde hair. Just when she wet the sponge again, Deeks finally opened his eyes.

"Hey! How're you doing?" Kensi moved a bit closer to him and hoped he wouldn't fall asleep again instantly.

"Kensi? What…? God, my head… What have you done to me?" Deeks mumbled and pulled at the nasal cannula before he tried to sit up.

"Be careful!" Kensi said, but she was too late, Deeks had already tucked up his legs, or at least he had tried to.

Deeks clenched his teeth in pain before he looked at her. "Would you please have the decency to tell me what happened? Why do I feel like I was hit by a truck?"

_Anterograde amnesia._

"You can't remember?" Kensi asked and got a stunned glance from Deeks.

"Would I ask you if I did?"

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time…"

She referred to the time when he had woken up the last time from an anaesthesia and pretended to have lost his memory.

"Okay, touché, but_this time_I really can't remember. I know that we were on a wrecking yard but that's it," Deeks answered.

Kensi explained curtly what had happened on the wrecking yard and paused when she came to the point that Deeks was now on the wanted-list of one of the most dangerous cartel of the west coast.

"What is it, Kensi?" Deeks pressed. He knew that she was holding something back.

"We believe that there was somebody else on the wrecking yard. Somebody who saw you at the laptop and who could think that you noticed something important."

"Seriously? I can't even remember that laptop and some crazy cartel-guys want to kill me because of it?"

Kensi answered by pulling his gun from her waistband, a Beretta 92FS, and handing it to him.

"As soon as the compulsory forty-eight hours are over, we get you to a safe house. Until then we somehow have to keep you alive here."

Deeks let his head fall onto the pillow and stared at his gun that was, judging by the weight of it, loaded. The semi-automatic once had saved his life and from an old habit, he popped one bullet into the chamber.

"Will a nurse accompany us?" Deeks asked casually and Kensi knew exactly that he hoped for some attractive, helpful company.

"Me."

"And who's going to protect me from you?" Deeks grinned and then took a deep breath. "Have you seen my knee yet?"

Kensi shook her head and could hardly imagine what was going through her partner's mind. Maybe the injury wouldn't heal properly and he wasn't able to do any kind of sport – if that happened, his job as Liaison Officer would be history and he would have to do deskwork. The whole carrier could be destroyed.

Kensi would have loved to take his hand, but it was different when he was awake so she only smiled at him and asked, "Okay?"

Deeks nodded and didn't flinch as Kensi removed the blanket. He was wearing blue scrubs, fitting to his legs, which had been cut just above the right knee. A snow-white bandage made its way from the middle of his thigh to the middle of his calf, a black brace around it. Even with no skin visible, you could clearly see swelling. Before one of them could say anything, the curtain around Deeks' bed was pulled back and the two agents reached for their guns.

"Hello. My name is Nurse Jane," a young woman introduced herself and showed her ID. "Good to see you awake, Detective."

She smiled at Deeks, who returned the broad smile, and then explained where the call button and everything else could be found, before she turned to Kensi.

"Dr. Edwards will be here soon to walk you through everything important once again. I'll always be somewhere near, if you need anything."

"Okay, thank you."

Kensi turned to Deeks, who was occupied trying to get the blanket in its right place again. He had sat up as well as possible to be able to reach the end of his bed and Kensi could literally see how his face lost all its color. She remembered Dr. Edward saying that he would have to deal with headaches, dizziness and nausea - Deeks seemed to notice exactly that as he slumped back onto the bed, eyes tightly shut and convulsively swallowing at the exact moment his surgeon stepped around the curtain. This was way worse than his worst hangover had been.

"Are you okay, Detective?" Dr. Edwards asked and looked at the heat monitor, before she shooed Kensi from the chair so that she was next to Deeks' head.

"Just a bit dizzy," Deeks said and opened his eyes; he was still seeing dark spots in his vision and tried to keep his stomach contents where they belonged.

"I can believe that. It must have been quite an impact. How is your knee?"

"It's seen better times," Deeks smiled and tried to sit up a bit straighter.

Dr. Edwards glanced at Kensi and the two women agreed that Deeks had to be in pain, just didn't want to mention it.

"I'm going to give you some more pain meds, Detective, and then we'll get you to a private room, okay?"

Hetty had phoned the director of the hospital and had informed him about the circumstance that there could be an attempt on Deeks' life at all times. They quickly had decided that he could be protected more efficiently in a private room than in a room in which ten patients lay – only separated by a curtain.

"I always wanted to be on morphine."

* * *

Kensi had made herself comfortable on a small couch next to Deeks' bed. He was lying in a private room now, two LAPD officers positioned in front of the door, who were meant to stay the whole night. Sam and Callen had shown up several hours ago and had brought Deeks some clothes (and Kensi some of her favourite sweets) they gathered from his apartment. It was likely that the cartel members were going to monitor it in the near future so the two of them grabbed anything useful so they did not need to go back again. Deeks had gotten out of the hospital shirt he had been wearing and gratefully put on one of his sweaters that was arrangeable with all the wires he was attached to.

It was growing dark by now and Kensi had through one of the windows a perfect view of the sunset. The day had been quiet, the people around Lopez probably hadn't figured out yet in which hospital Deeks lay, thanks to Hetty who had told every employee to deny that they had admitted a cop with a gunshot wound. Kensi pulled the blanket up to her chin and glanced at her partner. He had been sleeping most of the day due to the pain killers and his eyes were closed now, too.

Just as she wanted to search her bag for a book and the last Twinkie, Kensi heard the previously steady beeping of the heart monitor increasing and she stood up. Deeks was lying completely rigid under the blanket, every muscle tense, and she could see his eyes moving rapidly beneath his lids. Whatever he was dreaming – it couldn't be good. As his pulse kept increasing, Kensi stepped entirely next to his bed, but before she could try and wake him up, she heard the voice of Nurse Jane arguing with the two Officers in front of the door.

It seemed like she won, because not even two seconds later she stormed into the room and looked at Deeks, then at Kensi. Jane got next to Deeks and looked at the heart monitor.

"What happened?"

Kensi shrugged her shoulders and watched how Jane filled a syringe.

"I don't know. He was sleeping soundly for half the afternoon and then suddenly his heart rate skyrocketed. What do you want to inject him with?"

"A sedative, just for the emergency," the nurse said and for now put the syringe onto a small table. "We have to wake him."

She grabbed Deeks' shoulders and shook him lightly. "Detective Deeks?"

Kensi watched as the line, showing his heart rate, spiked in smaller and smaller intervals before looking back at her partner. Just as Jane reached for the syringe, Deeks jolted up, panting to get air. The jerky movements made his head swim, he grew pale and for the second time that day he felt his stomach revolting.

"Detective, I need you to calm down, okay? You're safe. Everything is just fine," Jane talked insistently to him and once again put the syringe away. "Deep breaths."

Nurse Jane reached with one hand for the light switch next to Deeks' head and turned on the lights. The sudden brightness tipped Deeks over the edge. Thanks to his headache he felt sensitive to light so that it felt like a hundred knives were pushed into his head. Without further thinking, he clapped his right hand over his mouth, his left on his stomach.

Kensi knew immediately what was happening and after nodding to Jane, she grabbed the emesis basin on the bedside table while Jane dimmed the light. With one rather large step, Kensi stood next to her partner and rubbed his back, as he threw up the little he had eaten today. Deeks felt like the pictures of the dream wouldn't leave his head, the scenario kept playing over and over again. Still captured in the nightmare, Deeks jerked away from the hand on his back as he stopped heaving.

Kensi took her hand off Deeks' back as soon as she noticed that it didn't do him good, but scared him. She glanced at the heart monitor, relieved to see that the pulse went slowly back to normal.

"Deeks, it's me. Kensi," she whispered and pushed his unruly, sweaty hair from his forehead.

It didn't matter to her that the gesture was maybe in a way inappropriate between work colleagues; she just wanted to comfort Deeks. Recognition lightened his eyes and he relaxed a bit more.

"Kensi?"

"Yes, I'm here. Are you okay?"

"Mm-hm. I'm fine," he slumped back onto the pillow and took a couple more calming deep breaths.

When Kensi was sure he wouldn't start vomiting again, she gave Nurse Jane the emesis basin. The nurse looked at the two of them, before grabbing the still full syringe, saying, "If you need anything else, I'm outside. Good night," she said, leaving the agents.

Kensi kept standing next to the bed and ran her fingers through her hair, before reaching for a glass of water on the bedside table, passing it to Deeks.

"Thanks."

He drank a bit and returned the glass to Kensi, glad that he was able to keep the water down. He hadn't dreamt that strongly for a really long time, not to mention it had never happened in front of a colleague before. Kensi didn't know what he was dreaming of, but Deeks knew for sure, that she was going to want to know. He certainly didn't want to hurt her, but he just was too worn out to talk about it right now. He couldn't suppress the edge his voice was taking when he said, "Go to sleep, Kensi. The next few days will be exhausting."

Kensi was shocked about the reaction and she narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, we're partners. Even if I will not do it in my life, I know, I can tell you anything – you said so yourself. It is the same for you."

She pulled a chair next to him instead of going back to the couch, as if she wanted to say,_you're not getting rid of me that easily._ Deeks breathed heavily and looked Kensi in the eye.

"I know, Kens. But not today. Not now."

Kensi could practically feel the pain and even the hint of resignation in the Deeks' voice. No matter how much she wished that he would tell her what was bothering him, she did realize that he had said everything he wanted to and even if she kept asking, she would only meet with opposition.

* * *

**A/N: Liked it? I hope it isn't OCC for you, I always like the episodes when you notice they care for each other, so I adapt it :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Phew, school is nasty right now and that just two weeks before the holidays... doesn't make sense to me..**

**This chap is quite short but the nest one is going to be longer, it'll have more action so I thought I couldn't cut it in half - yep, that's my explanation why this one is so short :D**

**Again thanks to the reviewers and by beta!**

* * *

Deeks woke up early the next morning from the sun shining brightly in his room. He blinked a couple of times, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and then glanced at Kensi, who was sleeping on the couch next to his bed. Her brown hair was a mess, as well as her former perfect makeup. It seemed like she tried to stay awake at all costs, the wrappers of Twinkies, Ding-Dongs and every other sweet she liked, surrounded her and Deeks could swear that she had chocolate in the corner of her mouth. Grinning to himself, Deeks looked away and sat up. While he waited for the dizziness to pass, one thought crossed his mind: _This could be your last day on earth._

Yes, cops woke up with that thought every morning, but the threat was almost never as near as it was now. Normally, you didn't know what kind of situations the day would bring, which operations you had to pull through, so you were a lot less tense. It could happen every second that some madman came storming through into his room, weapon ready to fire and kill him for something he didn't even remember. He had about thirty hours left, before he would be brought into a safe house.

Deeks huffed and shook his head. Normally, it was _him_ who brought witnesses to a safe location and now he needed to count on other peoples' help, because he wasn't able to defend himself. He was lost in his thoughts and didn't notice that Kensi woke up, or that she looked at him closely.

"What are you thinking about?"

Deeks literally jumped before he whisked off her question with a flick of his wrist. Kensi shrugged her shoulders, got up and went to the small bathroom, which was connected to the room.

* * *

Eric and Nell sat in front of their computers and were still trying to find out the identity of the driver of the red Pick-Up. The car had been reported stolen several days ago, so that was a dead end for them, and the driver had either been extremely lucky or he had known where traffic cameras were installed, because his face could never be seen.

"I'd say we run the car through Kaleidoscope, Eric. Maybe we'll find it that way," Nell said and talked about the most valuable program they had for finding cars.

The program needed certain parameters about an automobile and then scanned through the tapes of the public cameras – either in a limited area or in the whole city. Eric nodded and typed the known information in the search engine.

"It's worth a try. I'll start in the direct neighbourhood of the wrecking yard and stretch the area if we don't find anything."

Nell ran her fingers through her short brown hair and looked at Eric. Last year at Christmas, she had grabbed the chance and had kissed him beneath the mistletoe, but since then nothing else had happened. They had a beautiful, working partnership - both felt the same way about that – but that was also the reason they didn't go further. The two of them wanted to keep that partnership the way it was – it worked and it needed to be working, since they saw each other every day and couldn't afford a non-functioning relationship in their line of work.

"I'll go get us another coffee," Nell stated and was just on her way to the automatic door, when she heard the typical beeping of one of the computers telling her they had something. "Okay, maybe later…"

She sat down again and saw how a smile crept onto Eric's face.

"Okay, Nell, listen. It seems like the thieves-slash-drug-slash-weapons-dealer left the Pick-Up shortly after the shooting and switched to another car. I searched per Kaleidoscope and…." Eric's eyes were fixated on the screen, where the search for a grey Cadillac was running.

"I'll tell Sam and Callen," Nell said and started a telephone conference with the two, who were on the wrecking yard right now looking for more evidence.

"What have you got, Nell?" she heard Callen ask and gave him the short version of their research.

When she was ready to hang up, Nell heard Eric gasping for air and then a click in her ear, as Eric joined the conference.

"Guys, you need to get to the hospital ASAP! The car the men took just drove into the parking lot!"

Sam and Callen glanced at each other shortly before they ran to their car. Both of them had got up really early, compared to their normal times, to take yet another look at the wrecking yard. One of them had been hurt and that meant they spent every free minute trying to shut the cartel down – even if it meant that they had to go with less sleep.

Sam jumped behind the steering wheel and pushed the gas pedal to its maximum, while his partner called Kensi who was still at the hospital.

"Kensi, listen to me. Remember the guys who saw Deeks on the laptop? They just pulled into the parking lot. Get Deeks away from there! We're on our way, give us five minutes and you'll have back-up." With those words Callen hung up and looked at Sam.

"You think they'll make it?"

Both agents thought the same thing. Deeks had been operated on not even twenty-four hours ago and suffered a severe concussion as a bonus. The question was if Kensi was able to even get him out of his room, or if Deeks was too weak for that.

"They have to."

* * *

**A/N: One quick question: Shall I answer to your reviews? I know some people don't like it but I consider it rude not to answer, like I don't appreciate your review... Help me out here? :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Day early :) Reason: I'll be in Hamburg, going to Paramore! **

**Little hint: I'm sure some doctors would kill me for discharging a patient 24 hours after surgery, but hey - this is ****_fiction_****! Say I used... the freedom of creativity :D**

**So, okay, usual disclaimer and a short reply to a guest review, just skip it..**

**First of all, like I said, I've got absolutely no medical background at all - I gave my best to research it and I'm sorry that I got it wrong and upset you. I thought I wrote it correctly - obviously I did not - so thanks for the correction! As for the anaesthesia: in Germany it is possible to get sedated during the ride in an ambulance because there is always a "real" doctor there and not just paramedics. So like, for German standard that is correct. Again, thanks for pointing out the errors! I don't know if I'll correct them, because even what you wrote was really complicated, but I'll add a warning to the A/N.**

* * *

Kensi slipped her cell phone back into the pocket of her jeans and rushed out of the bathroom.

"Kensi? What is it?" Deeks asked, who had interpreted her body language correctly.

She drew her weapon, instead of answering him, and reached for the door handle. Deeks sat upright and before he even noticed what he was doing, he had clutched his Beretta in his hands. Kensi tore the door open and Deeks could see her muscles relaxing a bit as she spotted the cops in front of the door.

"Weapons out, now! We have a little problem," Kensi ordered them before she raised her voice and yelled, "Nurse Jane!"

Her voice had reached such a demanding level that the head of the nurse immediately popped up from behind the nurses' desk and Jane started to hurry down the corridor towards Kensi.

"Is everything alright, agent?"

"Get me a wheelchair and crutches; we have to move Deeks – now!"

Jane just nodded, turned and hurried away again, toward some room on the opposite side of the hallway. Kensi got back into Deeks' room and closed the door, which unfortunately had no real lock, like every other hospital door.

"Okay, change of plans," she said more to herself than to Deeks, while she walked to sports bag next to the couch.

"Kensi, what is it?" Deeks asked and watched as Kensi rummaged around until she found rather large sweatpants. Somehow he had the bad feeling that he already knew the answer.

Kensi stood up and got to her partner, the sweatpants in her hands. "The guys from the cartel, they're here. Put them on."

She got rid of his blanket and helped him to sit at the edge of the bed, legs swinging over it. The jerky movements let all the color drain from his face and he started to hear improperly.

_Do not pass out, just do not pass out_, he thought but wasn't able to keep his breathing from becoming laboured. With all his will, he wasn't up to repeating the previous night's events. Kensi first looked at him and then at the heart monitor he was still attached to; she could see his blood pressure sinking.

"Okay, you lie down, I get the pants," she said and started fumbling the cloth over his feet and the blue scrubs, as Deeks sank onto the bed again.

If he'd been a bit less dizzy, he surely would have made a comment about Kensi dressing him. The door to his room opened and for the fact that they didn't hear any sounds of a fight, Kensi assumed that Jane had entered the room, which was right. She was pushing a wheelchair, which had crutches laying diagonally over it, in front of her.

"Great. Now get him off of the monitors," Kensi instructed the nurse and pulled the sweatpants over Deeks' brace. Lucky for her that the pants were big.

Jane detached the cables and electrodes one by one off of Deeks' chest and then stood next to Kensi, who by now had the pants pulled up to his thighs.

"Deeks, you have to get into the wheelchair, okay?" Kensi asked and looked at Jane, who pushed the wheelchair next to the bed and began to speak.

"All right. You'll have to stand up for a second, Detective, we'll support you. Only put weigh on your left leg, don't forget that. I'll tell you to sit down as soon as possible, okay?"

Deeks nodded, sat up and immediately felt hands supporting him. Trying to ignore the nausea and dizziness, he stood up as good as possible. He noticed someone pulling up the sweatpants over his hips, probably Kensi, and then how he was turned a bit.

"Okay, Detective, you can sit down."

He took that invitation more than thankfully and sank onto the wheelchair, where he closed his eyes and tried to even out his breathing. His feet were put onto the small footboards, the right one was set at the same angle as his brace was.

"Let's get out of here," he heard Kensi say and felt how he was pushed forward.

A door behind him was closed and he heard Kensi talking to his protective detail, before he was being moved again. He was still more than dizzy and it seemed to him like the seat beneath him was moving. They stopped and he felt a slight air draft as Kensi reached out to the buttons of the elevator. Doing that, she must have glanced at Deeks, because she kneeled in front of him and grabbed his right shoulder.

"Deeks are you okay?" she asked, concern written all over her face.

He managed to give a small nod and opened his eyes, dark spots clouding his vision.

"Sure I am, Fern."

The door for the elevator opened behind them and Kensi quickly glanced into the cabin – it was empty. Now wasn't the time to elaborate further on Deeks' condition, she needed to get him out of the hospital as priority, then she could worry. Kensi had just pushed the button for the ground-floor and watched the doors close, as her cell phone started ringing.

"Sam. Yeah, we're on our way down. Side entrance, okay," she hung up and looked at her partner who had a little more colour in his cheeks by now. "Sam and Callen are at the eastern entrance. They'll take you with them, I'll follow."

Deeks frowned and gave her a lopsided grin. "I hope they didn't come with the Challenger, I wouldn't be able to get in there by all means…"

Kensi grinned back at him and shook her head. "They took the SUV they went to the wrecking yard with."

She glanced at him once again before she took the crutches, which were clamped to the back of the wheelchair.

"Can you get up? We need to do this as low-key as possible."

Kensi leaned the crutches at the wall of the elevator and then offered Deeks her hand, who took it with a strong grip and pulled himself to his feet.

As soon as his left foot touched the ground, Kensi handed him the crutches one by one and noticed how well Nurse Jane had estimated Deeks' height, the crutches needn't be adjusted.

"Okay?" she asked and took her hand off of his back when she was sure he would not immediately fall over if she stopped steadying him.

"I'm fine," Deeks answered and fastened his grip around the crutches as the door of the elevator slid open.

Kensi left the wheelchair in the elevator and walked next to her partner, who hobbled carefully and slowly toward the eastern exit. It was obvious that this wasn't his first time on crutches – his movements were way to smooth for that. Kensi had to grin when she saw that they forgot his shoes so that he was walking barefoot through the hospital. She could already see the exit as Deeks came to a halt and waited until Kensi was next to him.

"Short stop, just give me a second," he said and took a deep breath.

The longer he stood, the sicker he felt. He felt Kensi's hand between his shoulder blades and forced himself to start walking again. The door of the exit opened inwardly, which made Kensi take her hand off of Deeks' back and hurry in front of him to open the door. It was mid-September and in sunny Los Angeles no problem to walk barefoot, as Deeks was forced to. Actually, it was in his sweater and sweatpants that he was much too warm.

The two agents stood outside the hospital and exhaled – they cleared the first hurdle.

* * *

Sam and Callen stopped the large black SUV in front of them and Kensi opened the backdoor for Deeks to get in, which he finally somehow managed with her help. Callen had pushed his seat as far to the front as possible to give Deeks some needed space for his braced leg. The whole procedure would have been easier if Deeks had ridden shotgun, but then he would have been a perfect target. The back windows were darkened so you couldn't tell if anyone was sitting there or not, and that anonymity was highly needed. Kensi handed Deeks his crutches, who lay them across the back-seats, slammed the door and went to Callen.

"I guess it wouldn't be the worst idea if someone sat with Deeks. His blood pressure probably reached rock-bottom and I would not be surprised if he loses consciousness soon, or gets sick," she whispered to him, and pressed one of the emesis basins she took in his hand and got to her silver SRX, parked not too far away.

Callen first glanced at Sam and then at Deeks, who crouched behind him, pale as a ghost and breathing heavily. No, Callen didn't think either that he would last much longer. He got out of the car and climbed back in behind Sam, as Eric's voice filled his ear.

"Guys, we have a problem. The men just exited the hospital after seeing the empty room. They put the nurses through the mangle until they knew that Deeks was able to flee. Get away from there!"

Callen hadn't even fully closed the door as Sam started with squealing tires, Kensi right behind them.

"Eric, was one of the nurses hurt?" Callen asked uneasily – they should have spent more time for the protection of the doctors and nurses.

"No. Seems like the men realized they don't know anything. Everyone's fine," Eric answered and calmed the nerves of the agents a bit.

"Bad news is that the LAPD was too slow to catch them. Even the cops in front of Deeks' room weren't able to arrest someone. If you ask me, we are lucky they didn't come when he was still there."

Nell, who had been quiet until then, cleared her throat and asked, "How's Deeks?"

Callen looked over to Deeks, whose head had sunken onto his chest. With that entire hubbub going on, he hadn't noticed that the detective had blacked out. Callen bent over to Deeks, loosened the seatbelt a bit, that was cutting into his throat, and then searched for a pulse, he could only find a concerning weak one.

"Callen? How is he doing?" Nell's voice got more forceful – and more anxious.

She got her question answered by Callen telling Sam to drive faster.

* * *

**A/N: And? You going to kill me? Plot-like or medically-like? :DD**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Disclaimers as usual, thanks for reviewing and to my beta as usual :)**

**Enjoy!**

Kensi, who drove behind her colleagues, had to make sure that no one followed them and although she was sure by now that no one did, she kept glancing at her rear-view mirror. After another two kilometres she decided that no suspicious car was anywhere near them and searched with one hand for her cell as she had no comms. When her fingers finally closed around the cold device, she almost dropped it again, because the SUV in front of her suddenly accelerated and she had to hurry to keep up. A really bad feeling started to grow in her stomach. If Sam and Callen drove faster, without any obvious reason and by that risked to be noticed, something had to be wrong with Deeks. Kensi cursed herself for not riding with him. Whenever her partner wasn't well, she had to be with him or at least be able to communicate with someone who was with him.

She dialled the number of Ops in a very determent manner while stepping on the gas to keep up with the SUV.

"Nell, I want a conference with Sam and Callen – now!"

Not even three seconds later she could hear every word that was said and Kensi broke in on the conversation.

"Guys, what is it?"

* * *

Sam glanced at the mirror and saw how Callen supported Deeks' head with one hand and monitored his pulse with the other hand.

"Deeks is unconscious, Kensi, his pulse is quite weak," Callen answered and looked at his colleague's closed eyes.

"What do we do now? He should be brought back to the hospital!"

"We can't risk that he is recognized by some member of the cartel, Kens. We know that it's just the concussion and the stress that knocked him out. We get as quickly as possible to the safe house and lie him down. That's the best for him, trust me," Sam reassured her and cut a corner so suddenly that Deeks' hurt knee slammed against the door.

The detective moaned but stayed unconscious.

"Damn it!" Callen cursed and took his fingers off of Deeks' carotid artery so he could pull the right leg to him and hold it in a fixed position.

The hit had come sideways against the kneecap and right in that moment it was a little catastrophe for the doctors not deciding for an actual cast, which would have provided protection. Callen could just hope that the fractured patella would stay the way it was supposed to be. Sam turned into the street the safe house was located in, as Deeks' lids started to flutter.

"Deeks, you with me?" Callen asked as loudly and clearly as he could manage, his hand still at Deeks' chin. It took some seconds before Deeks had gathered himself enough to answer.

"Callen? What…?"

"Everything is alright, Deeks. We'll be at the safe house any minute," Callen said and carefully removed his hands from the detective's body.

Deeks took a deep breath and tried not to be overwhelmed by pain. His knee felt like hell and his head was even worse than before. Not to mention the crazy ride, caused by Sam, he was experiencing and not taking too well. Callen glanced at his colleague and reached for the emesis basin Kensi had given him.

"Deeks are you going to be sick?" he asked in a concerned tone, a frown forming on his face.

Deeks just nodded and breathed even deeper to get rid of the nausea. It had been embarrassing enough to throw up in front of Kensi; no way was he going to repeat it in front of Callen and Sam – that was ten times more embarrassing. His shame was gone the moment Callen laid a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Deeks. I know that concussions suck, trust me. If you're going to be sick, you're going to be sick. Can't do anything about it," Callen told him firmly with no room for protest and felt Deeks relaxing at least a bit.

Normally, it was a constant bickering between the team members, sometimes bickering below the belt, but in the end no one was going to be teased if he or she wasn't feeling well.

* * *

Kensi breathed deeply as she noticed that Deeks was with them again and was touched the next moment as she heard how Callen comforted Deeks. She knew that the agent had a soft side, although he didn't show it often. Kensi did not hear one single comment as Deeks, judging by the noises coming through her comm, threw up his breakfast. Actually, it was exactly the opposite; she could swear Callen murmured calming words. After some more minutes she stopped her car behind the SUV transporting Sam, Callen and Deeks, that parked on the small driveway to the apartment, almost hidden between the other houses. She hastily pulled out the key and got out of the car, just to be mere seconds later at the door she knew her partner was sitting behind. Kensi tore the door open and looked at Deeks, who was sitting slumped and white as a sheet on his seat, his forehead wet with sweat. Kensi reached for his hand and stroked it with her thumb.

"Hey. We're here. How's your head?"

Deeks breathed with his lips pressed together and Kensi could see how his hands started to clench into fists.

"Deeks? What is it?" she heard how panic crept into her voice, not unnoticed by Sam and Callen who were at an instant by her side.

"My knee…," he panted and felt his fingernails dig into his palms as he tightened his grip even more. Callen cursed, shooed Kensi from her position and gave her the crutches he had taken from the back seats.

"As Sam turned into this street, Deeks' knee hit the doorframe. It looked like it was exactly sideways to the kneecap," he informed the others and unbuckled Deeks, before he pulled the right arm of his colleague around his neck while heaving Deeks' legs with his free arm out of the car.

"Sam, you go on his other side, Kensi, open the door," Callen instructed and bore some seconds later half of Deeks' weight on his shoulders.

**A/N: I'm on holiday in Spain right now, so it is possible that it'll take longer for me to update :)**

**Review?**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Short thanks to everyone - including my beta!**

**Yup, that's all :D**

* * *

The three agents slowly got to the door Kensi had already opened. The style of the apartment was typical for the neighbourhood; you got directly into the living room, furnished with a couch, a TV and some cupboards. To the right there was an opening to the kitchen that only held a breakfast bar with some bar stools, because it was so tiny. There were two doors connecting a small bathroom with only a shower and a bedroom to the living room. The house was designed to protect witnesses and not to live in, made perfectly clear by the white walls without any decoration. In fact, there were only two colourful spots in the apartment; the beige couch and the light blue china hidden somewhere in the cupboards of the kitchen.

Even if none of the agents had suspected that someone was waiting in the safe house for them, Kensi quickly cleared all of the rooms, before she waved at the men, signalling that it was safe to come in. She closed the door behind them, locked it, and put the little golden chain in place, of which she doubted it would withstand a thief who was determined to get into the apartment. Kensi turned around again to see Sam and Callen laying Deeks on the couch, who sank thankfully into the soft seat pad. Sam glanced at his partner before he reached for some cushions and piled them up at the right side of the sofa. Callen grabbed Deeks' torso with a nod, as Sam lifted his legs so the two of them were able to lay Deeks with elevated feet on the couch. In the meantime, Kensi had placed the crutches in front of a wall and was now standing in front of her partner, who had his teeth clenched tightly together.

"Deeks? Can you tell me where exactly it hurts?" she asked with a soft voice and wished she could take at least some of the pain from him.

"Everywhere," Deeks tried to grin, but it was more a grimace than a smile.

His knee felt like someone hit it with a sledgehammer. It was impossible to localize the pain any more specifically – from the mid of his thigh he could not even tell where his knee ended and his calf started, it was just white-hot pain. Kensi smiled at him reassuringly and turned to Sam and Callen.

"We had to leave the hospital so fast I hadn't even had time to get pain meds or bandages," she explained and as soon as the words had left her mouth, Sam was already on his way into the bathroom to look through the first-aid-kit, while Callen grabbed the car keys to drive back to the hospital to get Deeks' "real" meds.

"Ask for Nurse Jane, she's informed," Kensi yelled after him, locking the door an instant after that, and then returned to Deeks' side, kneeling next to him.

Without really noticing it, she pushed the blond hair from his forehead and took his searching fingers in hers.

"Sam's looking for pain meds, it'll be better soon," she whispered to Deeks and knew that she was lying.

Given the chance that there was pain medication, it would be as tablets and they needed at least a quarter hour to show effect. Kensi hoped, although it was irrational, that Callen was able to get the meds in syringes, until she remembered something; as they had worked together with the Five-O team, Deeks had passed out while being vaccinated against small pox. Later he had said that he tripped, but with all his best will, who passed out while tripping? No, for whatever reason, Deeks was so heavily afraid of needles or syringes that he had blacked out. Kensi just wanted to press the theme again, Sam walked back into the living room, swinging a small package victoriously in his hands.

"Ibuprofen, 400 milligram," he cheered more or less while throwing the pills towards Kensi, he himself heading to the kitchen to get a glass of water for Deeks.

Kensi wrote a mental note to herself as she pressed two pills from the blister into her hand. Deeks hadn't taken any pain meds today, now she was giving him 800 milligrams of Ibuprofen and Callen was bringing her most likely morphine or another heavy-duty painkiller. The least she wanted was to overdose her partner. She heard in the background several cupboards being opened and closed, then a glass of water filling beneath the faucet. Sam came back into the living room, concern written over his face, and gave Kensi the glass of water. She waited until Deeks was at least in a position that could be described as half-sitting, before she pressed the water and the two pills into his hands. Deeks popped the meds without any comment, took two sips of the water and sunk on the couch again.

"I have to see if something happened to your knee, okay?" Kensi asked and shot him a concerned look.

His cheeks were slightly red, but she had seen him getting pale too many times today, to be relieved. That, and the fact that he was very quiet, judging by the cold sweat on his forehead, the muteness caused by pain. Sam guessed that Kensi was about to get Deeks out of his pants and that Deeks surely did not want to have any extra audience.

He glanced at his watch and decided, as it was only nine o'clock in the morning, to get some breakfast. "I'll buy us some breakfast," he said and then left the living room.

As soon as Sam was out of the door, Deeks body relaxed visibly. He was now alone with Kensi and could stop pretending that his knee didn't hurt like hell. He knew that his colleagues would never mock him, or something like that, but still, there was this certain intimacy, this thing, he shared with Kensi and did not have with the others.

Deeks cleared his throat and then looked at his partner, who was still kneeling next to him. "Hey, Kens? Thanks."

He saw that she frowned and tilted her head to the right side. "For what?"

"Well, for everything. For being at the hospital when I woke up. For staying by my side. For not pushing me last night to tell you more. For being here now," Deeks answered and dared to look up, finally reaching the last sentence.

"Always, that's what partners do. You're there for me, I'm there for you. It's that simple," Kensi stated and smiled at Deeks.

But it was not that simple. They weren't just colleagues or friends, there also was their thing. And exactly that thing made it complicated. Completely normal touching of shoulders or hands or whatever made them think about every following word. Left them searching for possible ambiguity. It's not that Kensi didn't like that, but she asked herself, if Deeks thought the way she did, if he felt the way she did. She was a brave, bold and especially strong woman, who wasn't easily thrown off track, otherwise she wouldn't be a federal agent, but Deeks' closeness changed her.

Positively.

Her walls she put up so carefully started to crumble and Deeks was able to see her true self only a handful of people knew.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So, this is twice as long as I usually update, but I had some time to translate because my insomnia decided to show up again. Five hours sleep tops for me, longer chapters for you :D**

**Thanks again for being amazing readers, thanks to kensi54382 for proof reading and nope, I still do not own a single thing of NCIS:LA :(**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Deeks could see that inside of Kensi much more going on than she let him believe there was. He, too, could see that it was not his place to question further, just like when she had seen that continuing to ask wasn't doing any good in the hospital. As Deeks knew his partner, she would stay with him in that tiny apartment until they had caught each and every one of the cartel and until then there was more than enough time to talk. He felt better by now, the dizziness had passed away quite quickly as he had lied down and he could even imagine eating something when Sam came back with breakfast; the nausea only noticeable when he moved too much.

Deeks glanced once again at Kensi, her eyes fixed at something he couldn't make out and seemingly lost in thought. He arched his back until his pelvis was off the couch and he was able to pull the big sweatpants over his hip. Kensi chose that moment to bounce back into reality and out of her reverie; she stood up and put one hand on his chest, stopping him from sitting up.

"Nope, lay down, I'll do that," she said and raised a laugh.

"You just wanna get me out of my clothes."

Kensi shook her head and couldn't keep herself from grinning as she pulled the sweatpants over his bare feet. The blue scrubs Deeks had been forced to wear beneath the sweats was really rumpled and he wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. As he was still lying on his back, he wasn't able to look at his knee himself, but Kensi's expression was enough for him to know that something wasn't right.

"Kensi? Do I wanna know what's wrong?" he asked, deciding to sit up.

The former white bandages were colored red at the inner side of his thigh, the crimson trace ending somewhere hidden beneath the brace.

"Oh, that does not look too good," he noted and looked in his partner's dark eyes.

"No, it doesn't," Kensi agreed, "I have to see what happened – I'll have to take off the brace and the bandages."

Deeks nodded and then glanced at his leg. The dressing extended up to his mid-thigh and by the end of it could not be seen because of the scrubs. They had two options: either he had to get out of the scrubs and would be sitting in boxer shorts in front of Kensi, or she had to reach into the leg of the scrubs in order to unbandage the knee.

Looking at her face, Deeks knew that they had come to the same conclusion. The two glanced at each other and silently agreed to the less improper version: Deeks had to get rid of the scrubs. Only thinking about Callen or Sam, or even both, seeing her hand in Deeks' boxers, made Kensi blush dark red. When Deeks had taken off the blue paper-like pants, Kensi opened the fastenings of the brace one by one.

"Okay, I'm gonna get you some cushions under your knee so that it keeps at least half-way the position it is supposed to be in. The thing is, when I take off the bandages, you have to elevate it by yourself. Can you do that?" Kensi asked and stacked some cushions from the couch under the knee, when Deeks had nodded, before she removed the brace and guided Deeks' leg onto the soft pile.

Deeks clenched his teeth. The operation had been almost a day ago and every little movement hurt like hell, but the pain meds were starting to kick in, which he was thankful for. Kensi lay the brace next to her on the ground and inspected the dressing. Blood had soaked through the gauze, just like the two had anticipated. Kensi smiled once again reassuringly at her partner, who was lying rigidly on the couch – she could see that he was in pain.

"Okay, now the bandages," she said and loosened the tape that held it in place.

Kensi undressed Deeks' millimetre by millimetre and stopped shortly as she had to remove some of the cushions, before she exposed the damaged knee completely. It seemed like it was heavily swollen and the bruises that were already forming made it look even more dramatic. Several stitches centered on the knee, each meticulously neat – except for one.

"It's nothing too bad, Deeks. Seems like one of the stitches opened a bit as your knee hit the doorframe. It has already stopped bleeding," Kensi calmed her partner and looked at the knee once again, before locking her eyes with his. "Other than that everything looks fine, as far as I can tell. I can't reuse that dressing; it should have been changed today either way. I'll be right back."

With those words Kensi had already vanished into the small bathroom, where the first aid kit stood still open on a cupboard. The antiseptic cream and a pack of gauze literally jumped at her so she grabbed them together with a sponge she had found after some searching in the cupboard, and returned to the living room, where she put the items on the table before retrieving a bowl with warm water from the kitchen.

Kensi knelt down next to Deeks and started to wash the almost dried blood off his skin. "If I apply too much pressure, let me know."

Not even one day ago, Kensi had washed the blood from his hair the exact same way. Deeks stared at her as she carefully cleaned his skin, applied the cream and then redressed his knee. She was doing it in such a careful way that he was actually touched. What was happening here? Kensi Blye wasn't someone who cared so much about anyone, she was someone who kicked asses and punched him in the arm for smartass remarks.

He decided to ignore that anomaly for now; he rather enjoyed being fussed over than having to tend another hurting part of his body from her sure-to-come punch if he said anything. As his knee was finally safely back in the brace, Deeks smiled at his partner, "Thanks, Kens."

"Anytime. You know that. And I hope you know as well that you can tell me anything, alright?" Kensi asked and thought back to last night.

Deeks sighed and answered, "Yup, I know."

* * *

Callen pulled up in front of the house the moment Sam rounded the corner with a huge brown paper bag in his hands. Callen waved at him before he gathered a bag himself, that one full of medical supplies for Deeks.

"Breakfast?" Callen asked with a glance at the bag Sam was carrying and got a nod in response.

"Kensi was just about to get rid of Deeks' pants and I needed an excuse to get away. I've got everything you need for pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, cereals, just everything I could think of."

"Excuse me – 'get rid of Deeks' pants'?" Callen grinned at Sam, but before he could ask anything, his stomach set the priority with a loud rumbling to breakfast.

Sam chuckled and then knocked three times at the door, rapidly.

"Coming!" Kensi yelled while pulling Deeks' sweatpants up to his hips and then going to the door. With one last glance she made certain that he was indeed dressed and then opened the door for their colleagues.

It seemed like it had been a good decision of Sam that he had bought everything that had come to his mind, because every single one of the agents wanted something different to eat. He, of course caring for his health, wanted some fruit with cereals, Callen, as always, bacon and eggs – main point that it _wasn't_ healthy –, Kensi needed her first round of sugar, so she decided for pancakes with a ridiculous amount of syrup, and Deeks just hoped to keep a toast down.

Eventually, the small table in the kitchen was more or less overcrowded with delicious things to eat, that Callen, Sam and Kensi had thrown together. Deeks was still lying on the couch, his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. With all best will, he didn't know how he could survive without sport. He went surfing every morning, or jogged his five miles – sometimes three – and when he had some time left, he would hit the gym for boxing or whatever his mind told him to do. Twenty-six hours had passed since he'd been shot and although he was exhausted, he was full of energy he wasn't able to get rid of. The feeling was driving him crazy. His three colleagues were in the kitchen, cooking things which caused his stomach to rumble loudly.

Deciding, that he couldn't stand another minute lying there on the couch doing nothing, he sat up and waited for the dizziness to pass. As soon as that had happened, Deeks swung his legs off the couch and looked for his crutches, which he finally spotted lying at the opposite wall. As motivated as he was, he wouldn't risk getting to his crutches without help.

"Kensi?" he asked and saw her face popping up in the doorway to the kitchen, before she hurried with a concerned frown to him.

"Everything alright?" she wanted to know and kneeled next to him, for them being at eye level.

When she had heard his voice, the first thing to cross her mind was that he felt sick again. Now seeing him nodding to her question released her inner tension a bit.

"Yup, I'm fine. Would you give me my crutches?"

"Deeks, I don't think that's a good…"

"Kens, I can't sit on the couch all day, okay? Let me at least come to you in the kitchen?" Deeks practically begged and used his best puppy-eye-look.

Kensi huffed. He knew exactly that she couldn't resist that.

"But I will not catch you if suddenly decide to pass out, is that clear?"

"You won't? You couldn't help it, could you, princess?"

"Deeks?"

"Yes, my sugar bear?"

"Shut up."

"Fair enough."

* * *

Back in the kitchen, Sam and Callen shared an amused glance. They took it as a good sign that Deeks was back to bickering with Kensi. The two agents had a bet running for quite some time, how much time would pass, before the two of them finally got together and how long Hetty's speech about "unknown feelings between two agents" would go.

"What do you think Sam, will they kill each other when they've spent too much time together, or will they finally realize that there is something more between them?" Callen whispered to his partner.

Before Sam could answer, however, the bickering stopped and Deeks and Kensi came into the kitchen.

Kensi looked at them in a played irritated way. "Mr I-am-fit-as-a-fiddle didn't want to stay on the couch one second longer."

"Well, Mr I-am-fit-as-a-fiddle _is_ fit as a fiddle," Deeks grunted as he sat on one of the barstools around the breakfast table. "Almost, at least."

Callen grinned and glanced at the detective. He looked slightly better than before, he wasn't as pale.

"Hungry?" he asked and got the last piece of bacon out of the frying pan and on his plate.

"Did you seriously just ask that?"

* * *

**A/N: How did I do? Good? Bad? I hope Sam and Callen don't seem ooc for you guys - in my head, they're having a good time around Deeks, he grew on them :) Just FYI**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So, here we go again :) Thanks as always to Kensi54382 for her beta work and support and to the rest of you guys reading and reviewing! **

**Disclaimers as usual...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Kensi had just turned on the TV in the living room, when she heard the noises from the bedroom. She had managed to convince Deeks to go to bed a little over two hours ago, granted with a little help from Sam and Callen. Exhaustion had radiated off of him but he still had refused to go to bed and leave the three agents alone in the living room - after all, "they were there to protect him". The moment when his eyes closed for the tenth time while they were sitting on the couch, the agents finally got him to lie down on the king-size bed.

Sam and Callen had gone shortly after that with the promise to be there next morning with breakfast in their hands. Kensi had said goodbye to them, cleaned up the kitchen – at least a tiny bit – and then showered before she now wanted to watch a little TV, she was sure that there were reruns of Top Model. The day had been nerve-racking for her as well as for the others so she wanted to try and calm down a bit before she tried to get some sleep. Now, however, she muted the television, grabbed her SIG and then tip-toed to the door of the bedroom, behind which Deeks was supposed to be sleeping peacefully.

Kensi pushed the still wet hair from her face and then reassured herself that she wouldn't trip over the too-large sweatpants she was wearing, checked her gun again and then pushed the door with her free hand open. The room in front of her was dark expect for the bit of light-a lantern on the street that fell through the window and was cast on the left wall.

Her partner lay on the right side of the bed, completely entangled in the thin blanket. The right side – her side of the bed. Immediately she was reminded of the time she and Deeks had been undercover as a married couple to identify a Russian sleeper agent. How long had the two of them been discussing who slept on which side because both of them likes the right side better? Deeks had eventually surrendered, hoping for fewer punches hitting his arm, if he agreed to let Kensi sleep on the right side. How he looked now reminded Kensi of the situation in the hospital last night-Deeks was rigid and breathing heavily.

If he were still attached to the heart monitor, there surely would be rapid heartbeats to see. Kensi tucked her weapon into the waistband of her sweatpants and walked to the little lamp on the nightstand which wasn't bright enough to give Deeks a headache.

"Deeks?" Kensi whispered and shook him lightly.

He flinched away from the movement and started to mumble incomprehensibly.

"Deeks, it's me, Kensi. I need you to wake up!" Kensi's whispering was by now more a command, but her partner didn't wake up. If anything, he seemed to dream something even worse than before. Kensi gave up on her precaution and tapped him on the cheeks. She didn't want to hurt him, but no one had the right to torture her partner, not even his own dreams. As soon as her fingers touched his face, Deeks' eyes flew open and what she saw in them broke her heart. It seemed to Kensi that a boy sat in front of her and not her ever-happy partner who always had to comment on everything. Deeks jerked away from her and certainly would have continued to back away if it hadn't been for the bed head.

"Everything is fine, Deeks. You're safe," Kensi mumbled with a soft voice and raised her hands to show that she didn't intend to harm him.

"Kens!" Deeks whispered and his tension eased a bit. Exactly that was the reason why he hadn't wanted to go to sleep. He had known exactly that, as soon as he closed his eyes, the dreams would start.

Deeks took a deep breath before he got rid of the blanket, which still seemed to be glued to him.

"Deeks…"

He shook his head and heaved himself off of the bed; balancing on his left leg he steadied his figure on the wall until the dizziness had passed.

"I need some air."

Kensi gave Deeks his crutches without another word and he started to hobble from the room as fast as possible. Kensi was still sitting on the bed and stared after her partner. What was going on with him? Sighing, she stood up, smoothed her shirt and walked into the living room where she noticed the open door to the mini-garden.

Kensi pulled off her socks and stepped onto the warm stones that covered the first few meters in front of the door. Deeks stood maybe two meters away from her but Kensi was still able to see that his whole body was shivering. With one hand she grabbed two folded chairs which were leaning on the wall of the house and then slowly walked towards him. Kensi unfolded the chairs and placed them in a way that they both would be looking into the garden instead of into each other's' eyes – somehow she knew that Deeks wouldn't be able to do that right now. Kensi sat down silently and looked up to the sky where you could see the stars twinkling, a rare thing when you lived in Los Angeles.

"Sit down, Deeks," she said softly, she didn't want to give commands, not now. When he didn't react, she reached for his hand and noticed that he was wet with sweat.

"Come on, you can barely stand."

Deeks sat down reluctantly and lay his crutches next to him on the ground. He was still shaking violently and that had nothing to do with the temperature as it still was about twenty degrees Celsius. At least he was awake. And he didn't want to close his eyes for the rest of the night, if someone asked him. And not the following nights either. He didn't want to sleep ever again. The shivering slowly decreased and his breathing was getting better, too. When he had woken up he had felt like he couldn't get enough air. Normally, if something like that happened at home, he would drive to the beach and would sit there staring at the waves until early morning. Sometimes he drove straight from the beach to work, only to drink ridiculously huge amounts of coffee so he wouldn't fall asleep at his desk.

The moment Kensi's voice reached his ears, Deeks jumped a little – he had almost forgotten that she was sitting next to him. "Do I really need to tell you again that you can trust me, Deeks? You want me to trust you, too, don't you?"

Kensi glanced at her partner and noticed that he seemed to have calmed down a bit. Still, she would not let it go tonight – when she had to spent the next days, maybe even weeks with him in one house, then she at least wanted to know why she most likely wouldn't get too much sleep.

_And how you can help him_, a little voice whispered in her head.

"What's going on with you, Deeks?"

The silence stretched into eternity before he finally opened his mouth.

"I dreamt of the man I shot when I was eleven."

Kensi frowned as she tried to remember the name. "Gordon…"

"Gordon John Brandel. My father."

For that, Kensi had not been prepared. She knew that something had happened between Deeks and his father and he had remarked that he had shot at him, but she hadn't really believed him – not in the conversation they had been having when he had said that.

"I shot at him because he had once again drunk too much and wanted to kill my mum and me."

Kensi had no idea how to respond to that. How bad must it feel when you had to shoot your father when you were a child? Because an eleven-year-old was nothing more than a child. When you had to decide whether you and your mum should survive or your father?

"Did he survive?" was the only thing she could manage to get past her lips.

"Yes. After five years of jail he died in a car crash in '98. At least that's what Hetty has told me. I hadn't seen him again after that evening."

"Deeks…"

"And what is your idea?" Deeks asked and tried to grin, even if Kensi thought that his reference to a group therapy wasn't that far-fetched.

Just as the night before, Kensi knew that he wouldn't say anything else and that was perfectly fine with her. Deeks seemed like an open book at the first impression, and that he was in most aspects of his life, but everything about his past was a huge question mark to others. He always smiled, like nothing could darken his mood, but by now the team has understood that it was just his way of dealing with stress. His self-protection worked in ninety percent of cases really well, except if it got too personal. Kensi still got goose-bumps when she thought of the day Deeks had pointed his gun at Detective Frank Scarli when he had asked how his just passed away partner had been in bed. Even with him you could step over a line. Too much was too much.

They sat for a long time in the garden, until Kensi became just too tired. She was yawning every few seconds and had a hard time keeping her eyes open.

"Kens, go to bed. I'll manage by myself," Deeks whispered and shook her lightly to wake her up.

"You come in with me, Deeks. No human being can last with only two hours of sleep," Kensi replied but stood nevertheless. If she didn't move, she would fall asleep.

"I can Kensi," Deeks sighed and rubbed his eyes.

Of course he was tired, but going to bed – now? Never.

"Deeks."

He was always surprised how his partner could make his name sound like a threat, it was just one syllable.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming," he surrendered and knew that Kensi would be asleep at an instant as soon as she hit the bed.

Deeks took the crutches Kensi was holding out to him and then followed her into the apartment and the bedroom, where she fell on the bed the second she reached it.

"Do you really wanna sleep in those sweatpants, Kensi?" Deeks asked and smiled at her. She lay like a little child on her side, one hand under her cheek and she looked down at her, as if she had to check what she was wearing.

"Sweatpants and shirt is fine," she mumbled, "And I sleep on the right side."

Before Deeks could even say anything, Kensi already was asleep. He tried to get her under the blanket, on which she was lying, as best as possible and then hobbled into the kitchen to make some coffee. The night was still young and he had no intention at all to spend it sleeping.

* * *

**A/N: Did you like the way Kensi tried to comfort Deeks and how he opened up to her? I coudn't really remember if she knew about the whole deal with Deeks' father, I know that he talked about it on various occasions, but the timeline was always kind of off... If Kensi does know in the series, she didn't know here :))**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: No long speech this time :) Thnaks as always, disclaimer as always, enjoy as always!**

* * *

Callen sat at his desk and rubbed his palms over his tired face. He and Sam had arrived several hours ago at OSP and had gone through the protocols of Julio Lopez' interrogation. It seemed like it was actually possible to crack the cartel but to achieve that, they had to set Julio free. At least more or less. He needed to be informed about the next deal to be able to prevent it, and he only got that information from the boss himself. Maybe they were able to infiltrate the cartel with a little help of Julio? Callen went through endless scenarios in his head, trying to sort the most logical ones out to come up with a plan. Sam had gone home over an hour ago to spend at least some time with his wife when he wasn't already able to see his children awake. Callen was sure that Sam was talking about the case with Michelle right now, about his worry for Deeks – he would never admit openly to his colleagues – and then he would be hugged. Callen was happy for him. When he had been told that Sam was going to be a dad, he had been so euphoric that it had seemed more than untypical for him. Callen took a deep breath and tried to focus on the papers in front of him. _Think, Callen, think._

"Mr Callen, shouldn't you have headed home by now?"

Hetty's voice made him jump. She _was_ like a ninja that could sneak up to anyone, no matter how well trained the agent might be. Now she was standing in front of him, her perfect fitting pantsuit completed with a small scarf pin, the eyes behind the glasses studying him with an x-ray-glance.

"Shouldn't you have, too?" Callen asked back and looked at his boss.

Boss. The word didn't do justice to her, not even slightly. She was more of a mother figure for all of the agents, and at the same time the most intelligent and well-read person Callen had ever met, fashion adviser for agents during undercover operations, terrifying and commanding if necessary and so much more. He didn't want to know how many identities she had lived and how many stories she had to tell.

"True, Mr Callen, true. And still, we are both here. May I take it that it is because of Mr Deeks?" Hetty asked, although it was more of a statement than a question. She knew what was going on inside Callen's head, of course she knew.

"Why do you ask a question you already know the answer to, Hetty? Of course it's because of Deeks. It's like he's a magnet for any kind of trouble," Callen sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Reminds me of another agent I know," Hetty said and looked at him knowingly, Callen laughing in return.

"Yeah, I'm not much better, I guess…"

"No, Mr Callen, you're not. You and Mr Deeks indeed show some parallels I'm not sure you know of. I don't know how much he shares about his past, but you are quite alike."

Hetty paused portentously, before she started again, "I suggest that Miss Blye comes to Ops tomorrow, she has to write the report. She will surely not be happy about that but I think it will be best if Mr Deeks gets some company that could help him with… different matters than his partner can."

Callen frowned and looked at Hetty with a question mark clearly written all over face. The woman was speaking in riddles as always. Where could he help Deeks that Kensi couldn't? Showering, okay, but it wasn't something he'd do for granted. After all, there _were_ boundaries even in a tight knit team.

"And Sam will...?" Callen let the sentence ending hang the in air and trusted Hetty to have arranged everything – which was indeed the case.

"Mr Hanna will accompany Miss Blye to Ops and then continue to work with Julio Lopez."

"Of course, what else would he do…?"

* * *

It was a long time to wait from midnight to the next morning. Especially, when you weren't allowed to leave the apartment you were in. Not that Deeks hadn't thought about going outside a bit but on one hand he didn't want his body to collapse, and on the other hand, he didn't want to know what was going to happen to him if Kensi ever were to find out. Never incur Kensi Marie Blye's wrath. That was one of the rules Deeks had learnt in a very short amount of time. So he had only one option left: staying in the apartment and doing anything that was silent enough to not wake Kensi.

Trying to shower was a no-go, the boiler was way too loud. What else could he do in the small house? In the end, Deeks sat the whole night in front of the television, watching ancient reruns or infomercials, next to him a Thermos bottle with coffee. After the guy from the infomercial wanted to sell the tenth vacuum cleaner, it finally started to dawn. If Kensi found him now sitting on the couch, he could say that he was used to getting up early to catch a few waves before work. Not that he thought for one second that Kensi would believe him. She knew him far too well by now and he could only hope that she would drop the topic. On the other hand, it was Kensi who he was thinking about. Kensi wouldn't just drop something, at least not if it was something she could embarrass him with later. He had been in that situation too often to hope for something different to happen, she still teased him about his job as a stripper – and his job as a lifesaver.

Deeks, however, also knew that Kensi had noticed that is was a really sensitive issue that easily threw him off the tracks and he could imagine that she gave him time until he was ready to share more. Or that she would accept that he wouldn't say another word about it.

Sighing, he drank the last bit of coffee and changed position on the couch. Deeks had been sitting on that couch for eight solid hours and had only gotten up to make more coffee, or go to the bathroom so that his butt was starting to hurt. And his knee. The painkillers he had gotten prescribed were heavy-duty so they made him very drowsy. Conclusion: he didn't take them anymore. Deeks was absolutely sure that Kensi would make him pay for it, but this way he killed two birds with one stone; one, the pills didn't make him even more sleepy than he was anyway and two, the throbbing pain itself kept him awake. Deeks' hand absently touched his stitched cut at his temple. When he had looked in the mirror, he had been startled how the wound with a nice blue bruise around it caught one's eye. Not to mention the headache coming along with it, more specifically with the concussion.

A completely normal day in the life of Martin A. Deeks. Was it so difficult to stay out of the danger-zone for once? Yes, for him it somehow was. Not that he wanted to get in it, it just happened. Deeks looked at his Thermos bottle that was in front of him on the small table in the living room. It was the only proof that he had been up all night; the coffee machine was clean, the used filters in the trash and the bottle itself would soon be vanished as clean as ever in the cupboard were it belonged.

That was the one advantage of him being fussy – Kensi would never find out about his stunt, at least Deeks hoped so. He could remember very clearly that she had accused him of being OCD as they had lived together as a married couple. Well, yes, Deeks liked to clean, what was wrong with that? His place was always clean and tidy, in contrast to Kensi's apartment. There hadn't been a time when he didn't need to walk around dirty clothes on the ground or found wrappers of sweets just everywhere. Remembering her apartment, Deeks had to smile and asked himself how long this one would stay clean, with Kensi working against him and his knee in a brace. One thing he knew for sure, he would not pass the ball in her field by not cleaning the Thermos bottle.

Deeks took his crutches that were lying in front of him on the ground and got himself on his feet. Pain coursed through his body as he tried to keep standing. The sudden movement showed him quite painfully that even the last trace of the painkillers had left his blood stream by now. His knee was throbbing like he had just ran a marathon and his head wasn't too fond of standing up as well. Deeks suppressed a groan with clenched teeth and started to hobble, Thermos bottle in one hand, to the kitchen, where he washed it and put it back in its place. His glance wandered across the food on the breakfast bar and he thought for a moment about making toast, but his stomach kept him from doing so. He had eaten something yesterday, something he had managed to keep down, but the queasy feeling was still there. The good thing was that Deeks knew why it was still there. As far back as he could remember his headaches always came with nausea. A simple headache was enough for him to keep his hands off of food until the pain was gone. So Deeks just took a bottle of water and settled down on the couch again.

* * *

When Sam walked into the Spanish Mission the next day, his partner was already sitting at his desk, fingers playing with a pen while he was reading something on his laptop. Sam chuckled and shook his head, wondering if Callen even had been home. He was wearing other clothes than the day before, but that didn't say too much as all agents had some spare clothing in the gym.

"Morning, G," Sam greeted and just wanted to sit down, as an indefinable noise from Callen kept him from it.

"What was that?"

"We're going to go the safe house, Hetty's orders. I stay with Deeks and you drive back with Kensi and then go on with interrogating Julio, well, making a plan with him how we can infiltrate the cartel," Callen said without looking up and typed something else before he closed the laptop and put it in his bag.

"Okay…" frowned Sam. It was just half past eight – how much could he have possibly missed? Callen looked at him and his eyes read 'you know Hetty', making Sam grin.

Hetty had always planned everything three days beforehand and was able to predict the future, at least it seemed so.

"Well then, let's go."

* * *

Deeks had gotten comfortable on the couch again, as the doorbell rang. His hand was in a millisecond at his weapon that was lying on the table as the waistband of his sweatpants were too loose to tuck it in there. Only when Deeks heard Callen's voice, his muscles relaxed slightly and he got up to walk over to the door.

"We need some secret knock or something," he mumbled to himself while opening the door.

"Morning, Deeks," the two agents greeted him, their hands as promised full with breakfast.

"Morning guys. Our little princess is still asleep, I didn't dare to wake her up without something to eat," Deeks grinned, and a moment later his shoulder was punched. "Oww!"

He turned around and saw Kensi standing next to him, sleepy, hair a mess, but still somehow totally sexy, her face grim. With all his best will, he wasn't able to tell if it was real or just played.

"I'm not that bad!" she hissed, pushed around Deeks and glanced at the breakfast in Sam and Callen's arms. "Oh, that looks great. Come on in, come."

The three men exchanged an amused look before following Kensi to the kitchen and started to lay the table. When Callen put the plates on the bar he took a moment to take in the appearance of their LAPD liaison. Deeks had shadows under his eyes and the rest of his body practically screamed for sleep. He seemed to have a hard time keeping his eyes open and Callen inevitably had to ask himself how much coffee he had already drunk. He knew that Deeks always got up early to go surfing, but after having surgery he had thought that he would sleep longer. Was that the issue that Hetty had talked about? The thing he could help with?

Callen had insomnia for what seemed forever, four hours of sleep were a real blessing for him. Wasn't he like a negative example, then? Callen thought that only the day would show him what all this was about.

Why he knew it? Hetty.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, I know, not much happening here... but the bad guys need some time to plan their master-plan and I need to give our guys some time for team-bonding :) Still liked it a bit? Review? :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Just in case you're wondering - I still don't own a thing :) Thanks as always to kensi54382 for amazing support and beta-ing!**

* * *

Convincing Kensi that she needed to drive with Sam to the Spanish Mission took what felt like three eternities. She absolutely refused to leave Deeks alone, although the guys argued that Callen would be there. Kensi surrendered in the end, but only to 'pick a bone' with Hetty, at least that was what she intended to do until she stepped through the doors of headquarters. Did anyone survive who had wanted to pick a bone with Hetty? She didn't think so. Kensi huffed, grabbed a donut and then slumped on her chair.

"Didn't you just have one chocolate croissant, three pancakes and a biscuit?" Sam chuckled and sat down opposite to her on his chair that Eric had somehow managed to get back after it had been shipped to god-knows-where.

"What? You're Deeks now?" Kensi hissed back and apologized right away.

"Hey. Your partner is hurt and you don't want to leave him, I get it. I made sure that Callen stayed in my apartment the first week after he took the five bullets," Sam said and watched as Kensi's frown eased.

"It's just…" was all she could say before a well-known clearing of a throat interrupted her.

"Miss Blye, my office?"

Kensi glanced at Sam before she stood and followed Hetty the short way over to her office. Although 'office' didn't actually fit, at least Kensi thought so. Observation platform was more like it. Hetty had her desk in the middle of the Mission, could survey everything, but still an imaginary privacy thanks to the step that divided her office from the rest. It was kind of strange, that office.

"Miss Blye, I can understand your displeasure all too well. But I can assure you that Mr Deeks is in the best hands. I do not act without any ulterior motives, you know that, and I'm afraid that you have to rely on my instincts once more," Hetty said with a strong voice and locked her eyes with her agent's ones.

"It's important that Deeks and Callen are alone, isn't it?" Kensi pressed but Hetty just gave her a knowing glance.

It was silent for some seconds before Hetty spoke again, "Miss Blye, how much do you know about you partner's past?"

Hetty felt uncomfortable going over Deeks' head like that and speaking with Kensi about something that wasn't hers to tell, but she didn't want to leave her completely in the dark. The way Hetty saw the situation, the detective kept quiet about his past, just like Kensi did. Sometimes it was her place to give a little information, like when she told Deeks about Kensi living on the streets for over a year.

"Not much. He… he shuts down when I try to talk to him about it," Kensi replied and thought back to last night. Should she tell Hetty about the nightmares? It was after all something private and she wasn't sure if Deeks wanted his problems reported to his boss. She luckily didn't have to make that decision.

"He dreams again, doesn't he?" Hetty asked cautiously and knew she had hit it when Kensi's face showed astonishment. "I know my agents, Miss Blye."

"Last night and when he was in the hospital as well, he woke up drenched in sweat and I had the feeling that he didn't recognize me at first. He backed away from me and … it wasn't Deeks who was sitting in front of me," Kensi admitted and you could see the worry for her partner written on her face.

"Kensi, what I'm about to tell you stays between the two of us, doesn't it?" Hetty's use of her first name was enough to make Kensi nod.

"Mr Deeks' father was an alcoholic and was prone to violence when he was drunk. Deeks tried to protect his mother and over the years, he became the target of his father. When he was eleven, Deeks shot at Brandel who had fired a shotgun at him after beating his mother unconscious. With three bullets in his body, he somehow managed to shoot his father in the shoulder, it was more luck than anything else. The revolver he used was from Ray Martindale, that's why he's so loyal to him," Hetty ended her short summary of what had happened and then looked back at Kensi.

"That's why he backed away from me," she whispered and slumped further in the chair.

"Yes. The only reason I tell you this and don't wait for Mr Deeks to open up, is that you have to know that you have to be careful with him after one of those dreams. No touching, no raised voice. When he is in enormous stress, the dreams are frequent. Ready yourself for some tough nights."

* * *

Callen had cleaned most of the chaos in the small kitchen and was just putting away the left-over food as he heard Deeks huffing. "Okay, enough of the games, what's wrong?"

"Is this going to be the I'm-the-boss-you're-just-detective-talk?" Deeks tried to joke while rubbing his temples with both hands. When he saw the seriousness in Callen's face, he sighed. "Really?"

"Come on, Deeks. You barely ate something and look like you maybe got three hours of sleep."

"Two," Deeks muttered and regretted the little word immediately.

"Two? Two hours of sleep in the whole night?" Callen closed the fridge and then turned around to face the detective, who had his head buried in his hands.

"No offense, but could you speak a bit more quietly? Please?" Deeks asked in an innocent tone.

"With those painkillers you've got prescribed, you shouldn't even be able to feel pain. Except for…when did you take the last pill?" Callen took another step towards Deeks and noticed the small orange bottle standing abandoned and almost hidden in the far corner of the bar.

"Yesterday evening before you and Sam left," Deeks admitted and dared to look Callen in the eye. Instead of the expected angry or maybe annoyed expression, he saw a questioning, even concerned one.

"Why? Why would you spend the night in pain if you could sleep peacefully and pain-free?"

"Because the pain keeps me awake, okay? When I'm in pain, I can't sleep. When I take the pills, the pain is gone and they make me sleepy on top of it. Ergo: no painkiller, no sleep," Deeks snapped and once more bit his tongue.

"You don't want to sleep?" Callen stared unbelievingly at Deeks. The man could, if he wanted, sleep ten hours straight and he didn't?

A slight shaking of the head made Callen force out the next words, "Deeks, listen. I'm an insomniac. More than four hours, sometimes five, that's all I get. You could sleep until noon but don't do it? Do you know what gift you're throwing away?"

"It isn't a gift, Callen! It is horror I don't wanna have. Every damn night I dream of the worst frigging moments of my life so that I wake up, completely without orientation. It's pathetic, nothing more," Deeks burst out.

"Is that what happened last night? Is that the reason you didn't sleep?"

"I dreamt, made a complete fool of myself in front of Kensi and then spent the rest of the night with coffee on the couch. Coffee plus watching TV plus concussion equals headaches to come back to your question what's wrong."

"And you don't eat because…"

"Headaches plus eating equals nothing good."

Now it was Callen's place to huff. Even if he had no idea of what Deeks was dreaming, he had gotten more personal information out of him than in the last years all together. The worst thing was that Callen should have noticed that something was wrong. How often had Deeks seemingly drank a hundred litres of coffee a day? Callen had thought that it was just a habit, but now, he could see a pattern. He turned around again and walked to small cupboard, took a glass, filled it with water and then pushed it together with the painkiller over to Deeks.

"You take the meds and get a few hours of sleep. If you dream, I'll wake you. And before you ask; no, Kensi will not know about it and yes, I'll wake you before she and Sam come back."

Deeks looked at Callen for quite some time before he inhaled deeply and took the pills.

"When you wake me up… don't touch me, okay? Just call my cell, that's the way I wake up the easiest."

Callen nodded without pressing the issue further. No touching and, judging by the hint with the cell, no direct talking to him as well. Callen wasn't stupid; he could more or less figure out what Deeks dreamt, at least after these two sentences. He took the crutches lying on the floor and helped Deeks to stand up from the bar stool. Deeks groaned as his blood pressure fell and the headache increased to an intensive throbbing. Black dots danced in front of his eyes, which he reflexively closed.

"Are you okay?" Callen asked, his arms holding Deeks on his feet.

"Yeah, just dizzy." Deeks shook his head and then opened his eyes again, before he let Callen guide him to the bedroom.

When he was securely tucked in, crutches lying next to him and a glass of water on the nightstand, the colleagues met each other's glance and Callen said, "If anyone asks, this conversation never took place."

"What conversation?" Deeks grinned before he finally allowed the sleep to take over his body.

* * *

Kensi had finally managed to finish her report and was sitting at her desk with nothing left to do except eating yet another donut.

"Are you going to the boatshed, later?" she asked Sam, her mouth still full.

"Yep. It's time to prep Julio for his job. If you can prep somebody for it, that is," Sam answered and met Kensi's gaze. "You want to do something, right?"

"I should be with Deeks. Even when Hetty says that it's important for him to be with Callen. He is_my_partner, in the end," Kensi sighed.

Sam scribbled one last signature on some kind of form before he packed his stuff away and stood from his beloved chair. "Then let's go, this way you'll be with Shaggy again in no time."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not blind, Kens. And neither is Callen. Deeks and you do seem to be blind though," Sam grinned and watched, bemused, how Kensi started to frown.

"Hey, whatever you want to say there, Sam…"

"Okay, okay. I'll just shut up."

* * *

Julio Lopez had indeed revealed everything he knew about the cartel but when it came to convincing him into betraying his boss, he was more than reluctant.

"How the hell can I possibly explain that I just vanished for four days, huh? You have some super-smart explanation for that as well?"

Sam took a deep breath and envied Kensi who was sitting in the other room, listening to Julio and not having to talk to him.

"You've been shot, got stitched up in the ER and then were interrogated by us. You didn't say anything and we had to let you go because there wasn't enough evidence."

"As if he would believe that. Especially if you want me wired. No way," Lopez leaned back; his arms folded, and flinched when the stitches in his bullet wound pulled. "I'll go back in, but without a microphone or camera. Give me a burn phone and I'll call you if anything happens. Either this way or not at all."

Sam closed his eyes briefly and took a moment to think about it. "Okay, no micro, no camera but a GPS transmitter in the sole of your shoe. If you don't stick to the plan, we'll notice. Either this way, or you go to jail right now, without a chance of coming out earlier."

Sam got Lopez to agree with that, deciding that the operation should start as soon as possible, meaning in a few hours. Until then the shoes would be ready and Lopez prepared as well as they could manage. Sam left the small interrogation room and joined Kensi, a bottle of water in his hand.

"I don't trust that guy, Sam," Kensi declared and leaned back in her chair next to the wooden table.

"Yeah, I don't know. I'd rather he was wired, but if we don't take this chance, we may not have another to destroy that cartel."

"And if it's just a trap for us? OR if he tells them everything? We just endanger Deeks this way," Kensi argued and ran a hand through her long hair.

Sam was lost in thought for some moments before he made a video call to Eric and Nell. Mere seconds later, Eric looked at them.

"What's up, Sam?"

"Hey Eric. How small are the smallest micros you have?"

* * *

**A/N: I promise, more team bonding to come! And yes, the case will be dealt with as well, I just focus more on the team :D Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks to my beta kensi54382 for amazing pep talk and making me laugh after the most boring back-to-school-day ever :) So, like I promised: more Callen and Deeks to come...**

**Enjoy! :))**

* * *

Callen was sitting with his laptop and a glass of water on the couch, desperately trying to concentrate on the document in front of him, but found himself failing to do that. He knew by now why Hetty had wanted him to spend some time with Deeks. She somehow had managed to show the two men that there always were different points of view of the same situation. Not that they didn't know that before but regarding this exact situation, they never considered the other side of the coin. Callen had never anticipated that the sleep he was missing so much could be pure horror for other people, and Deeks only saw that horror instead of the restful side.

Callen shook his head and tried to focus on the monitor in front of him again. Hetty was full of surprises, even for him. If she had lived some centuries ago, she surely would have been accused of being a witch with her talent to foresee the future. Although, the people would probably have run away from her instead of trying to burn her. He couldn't help but grin at the thought that someone tried to drown or burn Hetty, trying to get her to do something she wasn't intending to do. It was a picture that just wasn't right. And that was not what he was supposed to be thinking about. Again.

Sighing, Callen closed the laptop and leaned back. The sun was shining through the windows which regretfully had to stay closed for their safety - even if the windows did not look like it, they were bulletproof. The garden would be an alternative to opening the windows, but Callen didn't want to leave the living room. He had promised Deeks that he would wake him from a nightmare and he wouldn't notice one if he was sitting in the garden. It had been four hours since he had convinced Deeks to go to sleep and he hadn't heard a thing from the detective since then. Sam and Kensi would return soon but Callen wanted Deeks to get as much rest as possible and he certainly would not wake him a second too early, if not absolutely necessary. Callen was just thinking that Deeks actually managed to sleep quite peacefully when the sounds from within the bedroom were carried to him through the door he had left ajar.

Mentally trying to brace himself for the next couple of minutes, Callen stood and made his way to the doorframe. He saw the same picture Kensi had seen the two previous nights; Deeks lay heavily breathing and tangled in his blanket, the injured knee twisted in a way that couldn't be comfortable. Following Deeks' advice, Callen fished his cell phone from his pocket and hit the speed dial for Deeks' phone which was lying on the small bedside table. The cell phone was ringing not even ten seconds later, but the detective was oblivious to it. It seemed like the pain killers just sucked him even deeper into his dreams than normal.

Callen hung up and tried to figure out the best way to wake his colleague. Deeks had said that he shouldn't be touched or spoken to, but there was no other option left. Callen took some steps nearer to the bed, but kept some distance in order to look non-threatening.

"Deeks. Deeks, wake up!" he said in a firm but not commanding tone, still with no success.

Callen considered using 'Marty' for a second, but abolished that idea in the same thought. Whatever had happened, Callen was sure it had something to do with abuse and Deeks certainly had been called Marty back then. It wouldn't help - it would just make things even worse. In the end, Callen fell back on the last resort he could think of; he called upon Deeks' sense of duty.

"Detective Deeks! Open. Your. Eyes," he hoped that he stressed every word like an instructor would speak to his trainee. "Detective!"

Just when Callen made the move to touch Deeks, his eyes snapped open and stared at the agent, who took a step back.

"Deeks, everything is fine, okay? Just a dream," Callen said calmly and waited until the detective nodded slightly, before he got closer again and handed him the glass of water from the nightstand.

"Sorry," Deeks mumbled after several seconds and rubbed his eyes before accepting the water and giving his okay for contact with that.

"Nothing to be sorry for. Need some air?"

"That'd be great."

Callen helped Deeks to untangle himself from the blanket, gave him his crutches and then followed Deeks into the garden. The two of them sunk onto the chairs which were still standing there from last night.

"We sat here last night as well, Kensi and I. Normally, I would drive to the beach, but this is as good as it can get, considering the situation," Deeks commented without really looking at Callen.

"Tell Kensi what you dream of," Callen said out of the blue. "Eventually, she'll figure it out on her own, one way or another. You know that's true. Just tell her and it's easier for both of you."

Deeks frowned at his team leader. Like the day before with Kensi, this situation felt kind of wrong, weird. Callen spoke this openly with Sam, maybe Hetty, but certainly not with him. Even if Deeks didn't notice it in everyday situations, it did seem like the team grew closer and like he was becoming more and more a part of their family, despite technically still being on the payroll of the LAPD.

Enjoying the moment, he answered lost in his thoughts, "Yeah, maybe I should."

* * *

Eric and Nell were confronted with what must have been the most complicated task they were ever asked to do. They didn't have to get through some wicked firewall of another federal agency or coordinate their team with the LAPD without one shooting the other by accident – no, they had to put a micro into a shoe. They had to put a micro in a shoe in a way that no one would notice it but it still transmitted everything anyone was saying in the room. Sure, they were technical analysts, but analysts being the important word here. Both of them liked to tinker with something sometimes, like Eric built his odd flying object, but that didn't mean that they were supposed to tamper with shoes.

"Where the heck are we supposed to hide the microphone?" Nell sighed, holding the shoes of Lopez in her hands.

The colourful sneakers were well-worn – so well-worn that they didn't deserve to be called sneakers anymore. Taking other shoes was no option as the leader of the cartel knew his members and new shoes bought within the days of absence that were hardly to explain would raise unwanted attention.

"Don't complain, but be glad that it is just the micro and not a camera that has to cover all angles of wherever they're going to be," Eric stated and thought back to what Nell had asked during her first month at OSP: Do they always expect the impossible?

Nell grinned and met her colleague's gaze, "Yeah, guess you're right. Okay, first the tracking device, that's easier to hide."

She took the little device with tweezers and pushed it between the sole and the insole of the left shoe.

"That's going to be uncomfortable. I would put it in the sole but I don't think that it would survive a cut with a scalpel," Nell said and smiled inwardly.

The guy who shot Deeks ought to walk in uncomfortable shoes for the rest of his life, if it was up to Nell. Eric critically inspected the soles and came to the same result as Nell. "No, they would most certainly not survive that. So, where do we put the microphone?"

It really wasn't easy to find a place for it. Even if it was the smallest they had it was still the size of a button camera to catch all of what was said. The two finally decided to put the microphone behind some holes in the shoe that had already been there. As long as Lopez was wearing black socks, it wouldn't draw attention to it – except if someone suddenly decided to take a closer look at holes in a sneaker.

"Okay, that's it."

Nell took off the magnifying glasses and tried to rearrange her hair at least a bit. Before she knew it, Eric had tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and then all but flinched back from the touch.

"Um… coffee?" he stammered, his cheeks the color of the ripest strawberries you could possibly imagine.

"Yeah, sure," Nell answered as relaxed as she could manage, ignoring Hetty's no-food-or-drinks-up-in-ops-rule.

Granted, they had kissed at Christmas but that had been different. Nell had been an elf and so in holiday mood that she just took the initiative. Only to get Eric into his costume, of course – at least that was what she tried to tell herself. Nell sighed more or less annoyed and shook her head. She had an incredibly high IQ and could see through everything, even this dance Kensi and Deeks were having for now over two and a half years, but didn't see themselves. Then why couldn't she understand what was going on between Eric and her? And what wasn't ?

* * *

Kensi and Sam were just on the way back to the safe house when Eric and Nell informed the two that they had somehow managed to get the microphone into Lopez' shoes so that the operation could start anytime now.

"Okay, thanks, Eric," Sam slipped his cell phone back into his pocket and glanced at Kensi who was sitting on the passenger seat of the Challenger. "The shoes are ready."

"Get me to Deeks and then you and Callen follow Lopez," Kensi said and didn't welcome the sense of relief that wanted to wash over her.

They had a chance to get to the cartel. Yes, there was a lot that could go south but at least they had a foot in the door.

"You sure that you don't wanna come along?" Sam asked and looked at her unbelievingly. He would have bet that Kensi wanted to personally kick the asses of the people who had hurt her partner.

"I will not leave Deeks all by himself," Kensi snapped and then added sheepishly, "Every time he does something on his own, something happens to him. Remember last Christmas? He follows some insane spinach lead and ends up in a garbage container."

She could remember all too clearly when the suspect had let go of the container and Deeks had slipped out, hands bound together and gagged.

"Yeah, that's an argument," Sam agreed and then left it at that. There was no point of trying to show Kensi how protective she was at the moment concerning Deeks.

"Callen said we should give him a call when we're headed their way," Sam said and left it to Kensi to understand the not really subtle hint.

"Okay," Kensi was already hitting her speed dial and pressed the phone between her ear and shoulder while checking her gun.

Sam looked at her again and then at the SIG in her lap. Kensi and her gun were like a little girl and her doll. Whenever she was nervous or felt anything that she didn't like, she had her gun in her hand even if it was just to check whether the safety was still on.

"Hey, Callen. Yeah, we're on our way to you guys. Sam will take you to the boatshed and then the op can start. See you in a bit," Kensi hung up with a frown forming on her face.

"Everything all right?"

"I don't know… There's something Callen didn't tell me."

"Is there now?"

"There was something in his voice, something that doesn't belong there."

Sam smiled and tilted his head slightly. "Kensi, Callen is an undercover agent who walked into the middle of criminals without them noticing that they were being played. And you hear something in his voice that doesn't belong there?"

Sam knew his partner and he also knew that it was possible to tell from his voice if there was some problem or if he kept something from you, but he didn't want Kensi to worry even more than she already did.

* * *

**A/N: So, will Deeks talk to Kensi? And is there something going on between Eric or Nell? Will the op go south? How did you like the moment between Callen and Deeks? Too much? Well, I certainly like to know - leave a review :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Okay, little warning: there is some bad language, but it had to be there :) And be ready for some fluff/cheesy-ness... Normally not really my comfort zone but I couldn't resist :D**

**As always thanks to kensi54382 for beta-ing and for you guys sticking around!**

**I don't own anything!**

* * *

Deeks was still sitting in the little garden, head supported by his right hand, and thinking about Callen's words. Maybe he should tell Kensi what he was dreaming. It would be embarrassing for him and painful at the top, but it would create trust and probably help both to deal with the dreams. He sighed and grabbed the bottle of water standing next to him on the ground. The pain in his knee had dulled since he had taken the painkillers, as well as the headache and even the nausea had subsided.

Callen had gone inside several minutes ago to make some kind of snack for the two of them since they hadn't eaten anything except for breakfast and it was already afternoon. Deeks could hear Callen telephoning with someone in the background, before steps neared him and the agent stepped outside again.

"Sam and Kensi are on their way, they'll be here in twenty," he enlightened Deeks and then gave him a sandwich he had put together from leftovers.

"Why do you do that?" Deeks asked, looking at his food.

"Why do I do what?"

"You make me a sandwich, convince me to take the meds, wake me from nightmares – why?"

Callen frowned at him and took a bite of his sandwich before he answered. "Because I learnt what family means. You take care of each other. Deeks, Sam and I always give you a hard time and joke around, but do you think we would do that if we didn't know that you wouldn't get us wrong? You're like a little brother to us, just like Kensi is our sister. She is just less annoying than you are."

Deeks grinned and glanced at Callen. He knew that Callen grew up as an orphan and had practically found a real family at NCIS for the first time in his life – that's why that statement was so much more than just a few sentences meant to comfort him. Deeks was family to a man who actually hadn't had a family.

Finally, Deeks nodded and also took a bite of his sandwich. "Family. Never thought I would ever belong to one."

* * *

Almost one and a half hours later, Sam and Callen were sitting in the Challenger, watching how Lopez walked away from the boatshed to the rendezvous point he had agreed on with the boss of the cartel earlier that day. Lopez had tried to convince him during the phone call that he had been interrogated but didn't say a word and it seemed to have worked. The microphone in his shoe worked perfectly but Sam and Callen had no clear view whatsoever on the meeting point, the area was way too open. They had no other option but to listen to the conversation and stay as close as possible to Lopez but far enough away so that they wouldn't be seen. Their first plan to infiltrate the cartel and get a man in had been crossed off the list of possibilities when they had gathered how suspicious Hernando Sanchez, leader of the cartel, really was. They could only get Lopez back in and hope that he'd report the date of the next meeting or deal and then step in. Lopez tried to get some information even in that first conversation but had to back off quite soon as to not make himself suspicious. All in all, Sam and Callen didn't learn much, although it did seem like Julio was back in business because Sanchez said he'd get in touch.

"Well, that wasn't helpful," Callen sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"It was at least a beginning."

* * *

Kensi was sitting next to Deeks on the couch, a slice of pizza in her hand, eyes fixed on the TV. They had decided to order some pizza as Deeks was in no condition to cook and he wouldn't dare to let Kensi cook anything. Deeks had tried to wash himself as well as possible with a washcloth shortly after Sam and Callen had left but in the end had to ask Kensi to help him clean his back. The two tried to make the best of the situation, keeping the awkward feeling at bay with their normal bickering quite well. Deeks had been oddly silent the whole day and after the second slice of pizza, Kensi couldn't hold back anymore.

"What's up, Deeks?"

Deeks' head jerked in her direction but he averted his eyes from hers as soon as he had met them.

"Nothing?" he more asked than said, saw her no-nonsense face and tried again. "I don't know where to start. When Callen was here, I dreamt again and he later said that I should talk to you, about what I dream… man, that sounds awful," Deeks laughed nervously and kept his gaze steadily out of the window.

"No is doesn't, Deeks. Listen, I know you're not going to like this, but Hetty told me a bit so that I know how to react when you've got nightmares. She didn't go into detail or so…," Kensi knew that she wasn't supposed to say that but she had the feeling that it might help Deeks to open up.

"What did she tell you?" Deeks voice didn't sound hard or judging, he sounded tired.

"That your dad, well, that he drank and was aggressive and then, one night…," Kensi didn't know how to put it in words; it was her partner she was talking about, not just any victim of domestic violence without a face. Of course she felt sorry for them too, but this was Deeks, damn it!

"That then, one night, he shot with a shotgun at us? That he hit? That I shot him after that?" Deeks closed his eyes and forced his fists to unclench. "That's what I dream of. Every damn night I dream of that bastard who called himself my father who would first beat the shit out of my mum and me and then just shot at us. Do you know what it's like to crawl with three bullets in your body to the lifeless form of your mother?"

Deeks took a deep breath and tried to chase the pictures away that slowly made their way into his mind.

"Deeks…," Kensi saw the moisture glistening in his eyes and the slight shaking of his voice all too well. "Is there anything I can do?" she whispered and reached out to touch his cheek, but thought better of it.

"When I wake up, I… I see my father so… just don't touch me, okay?"

Kensi nodded although she had already been told so by Hetty.

"Can I touch you now? Please?"

After a slight nod, barely noticeable, Kensi closed her arms around Deeks' neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "I am so sorry, Deeks."

* * *

Marty Deeks was one hell of a guy when it came to pushing things to the very back of his mind, Kensi learnt that pretty quickly. Not even ten minutes after he had sat with wet eyes in front of her, he was back to his old self and joking with her. It was his way of dealing with things and Kensi accepted that. Deeks had opened up to her and she knew how hard that had been for him. Even if it might not seem so to outsiders, Kensi also knew that Deeks was better. He had taken his painkillers without a word of protest after she had promised to wake him up, if necessary, and that was a lot more trust than she had gotten yesterday.

It was just after ten o'clock when the two agents decided to call it a night, Kensi throwing herself on the right side of the bed, Deeks climbing in next to her in the left side. After the op as a married couple it didn't feel awkward to share a bed, even if the little voices kept whispering that it should feel awkward.

Thanks to the painkillers and the stress of the last day, Deeks was more than exhausted when he let himself sink down on the bed, only in a shirt and boxers.

"Tired?" Kensi grinned when she saw him yawning, pushing and pulling his pillow the way he liked it.

"As hell."

Kensi grinned again and snuggled down in the blanket before she killed the light.

"Good night, Deeks."

"Night, Kens."

* * *

The first two hours of the night were restful for both agents, but when Deeks slipped into the REM-phase of his sleep, the dreams started again.

_When the little Marty Deeks opened his eyes, the clock on his nightstand showed that it was just after eleven at night. The loud voice of his father was carried up the stairs to him, so loud that he couldn't hear his mother's answers. His father had never been one of the caring but the beatings only started with the alcohol. His daddy had turned more and more into a person Marty didn't know. The sound of his father's hand slapping the cheek of his mother was by now as familiar as the turning of a page of a book to him. A book he could easily forget the situation at home over, he could be the hero, saving the ones he wasn't able to save in real life – like his mother._

_Again and again he heard his mother being slapped until he couldn't bear it anymore and got out of bed, the little fingers tightly gripping the .38 revolver Ray had given him._

_Marty opened his door as carefully as possible and padded the few steps down into the kitchen from where the screaming was coming. If the Brandels had lived in a better neighbourhood, the police would have knocked long ago at their door, but here, in this part of the town, screaming was an everyday occurrence._

_"Gordon, please, I'll do everything you say but please don't hurt Marty," he could hear his mother begging for his well-being._

_His gaze wandered over the bruises on his arms and chest and thought about the other ones that surely would join the old ones tonight._

_"That little bastard!" his father panted with rage and when Marty heard a clicking noise, he knew it was time to intervene. He stepped through the door of the kitchen, clutching the weapon with both hands and pointing it at his father – not, not his father, just the man he hated. The man who stood with a loaded shotgun in front of his mother and was ready to shoot her._

_"Marty, get away from here!" he heard his mother's scream just seconds before Brandel turned and fired._

_Marty had always been an agile and fast kid, that's the way you grow up when you had to expect punches at all times. Those reflexes kicked in and he threw himself aside, gun still in his hands, but he couldn't prevent some pellets from hitting his body. Pain radiated through his body as he hit the ground, barely conscious._

"Deeks."

_Without even registering what he had done, his father turned to face his mother again, who was lying on the ground in front of him, still crying and begging, her face a huge black and blue bruise._

_With all his strength that he had left, Marty raised the revolver, aiming as best as he might at the huge mass of his father and pulled the trigger._

"Deeks!"

_At the same time, a second shot was fired from the shotgun, the pellets flying towards his mother…_

"Deeks! Please, wake up!"

Deeks bolted awake, his body shaking and his mind trying to remember where he was, given the circumstance it was pitch black. His heart was thumping in his chest like he just ran a marathon and he felt cold sweat slowly making its way down his face.

"Deeks, it's me, Kensi. Everything is alright."

His heartbeat slowly calmed – he was safe, he was with Kensi in a safe house after he'd been shot. His father was not there.

"I'll switch on the light, okay? Nothing to worry about."

Deeks took some slow breaths and ran his shaking hand through his unruly hair. He heard the soft clicking of the light switch and the room was flooded with light mere milliseconds later. What a calming effect light had – it washed away the last remains of bad dreams.

"Deeks?"

His gaze focused on Kensi who sat beside him, hair a mess but wide awake, still holding some distance.

"I'm fine." He once again ran a hand through his hair and then rested his head against the head of the bed, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

"No problem, really. I thought that you would wake up earlier, so…," Kensi said as laid-back as possible and then reached her fingers out for him.

Deeks' eyes were still closed so that Kensi didn't wait for a reaction but took his hand and rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand. As soon as their fingers touched, Deeks stiffened but after a few seconds accepted the touch and didn't flinch back.

"Let's get back to sleep, okay?"

Deeks would have protested in every other situation that there was no way he could go back to sleep right now but with Kensi next to him, he felt safe. He nodded and slid back under the covers and rested his head on his pillow, waiting for Kensi to turn off the light again and then grabbed her hand. For the rest of the night, she was his anchor to reality.

* * *

**A/N: So, tell me: Too cheesy? Or did I nail it with the Densi fans?**

**Oh, just that you know, there is whump to follow.. I mean, the bad guys are still out there, right? I think it's time that they have some fun with Deeks... *evil grin***


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Day late - so sorry but I'm just so super busy right now... But you'll get a nice long, Deeks whump chapter as an excuse :) Maybe that already implies it, but I tell you again just to be sure: there is some torture in here and also in the following chapters. So, be warned :)**

**Thanks to my wonderful beta and the guest reviewers!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Despite the painkillers, Deeks had woken up earlier than Kensi but that wasn't really unexpected. He was an early riser having been shot or not. When he had gotten out of bed this morning, he had been relieved to find is head not hurting anymore and the vertigo gone as well. According to the doctors, he should have to deal with the symptoms of his concussion for at least a week, but Deeks was fit as a fiddle only three days after the blow to the head. He could only hope that his knee would heal as fast because he was already tired of sitting on the couch all day long. Although Deeks knew he didn't need to, he was determined to get into loose-fitting jeans – what he finally managed despite the brace - and a blue hoodie he loved.

Deeks hobbled on his two crutches back to the couch, a freshly brewed mug of coffee somehow clutched in his hand, when a sound caught his attention. Even before he realized that that sound were steps in front of the door of the apartment, said door already flew open. Yes, this was a safe house but that didn't automatically mean that there were steel doors or something alike that were able to withstand a battering ram. The security chain as well as the lock were ripped from the moorings and landed with a clank on the ground. Deeks brain screamed at him to do something but he wasn't able to grab his Beretta from the waistband of his jeans without drawing attention to it or risking falling over. The only thing that he could use to defend himself was the mug he still held in his hand. He just had to try and occupy the men until Kensi woke up, understood the situation and helped him out.

Deeks threw the mug as hard as he could at one of the attackers, who unfortunately was fast enough to avoid getting smacked in the face by it. Seeing that this wouldn't work out, Deeks decided that he just had to get rid of his crutches and get his gun, or even use the crutches as a weapon, but before he could even finished that thought, he felt a bat making contact with the already existent cut on his temple. That was all it took to have him blacking out.

* * *

Kensi was ripped from her sleep by a loud noise. Her body was in full agent-mode before Kensi was even fully awake so that she found herself with her SIG already in her hand when she opened her eyes. One grab to her left showed her that Deeks was no longer lying next to her. Another clattering noise coming from the living room reached Kensi's ears. Panic flooded through her body together with a huge portion of adrenaline. In a matter of seconds, Kensi was standing on the threshold to the living room, tearing the door open with her gun at the ready, only to find a deserted room in front of her. While running toward the front door, which hung quite impressively out of its hinges, Kensi noticed the mess surrounding her; Deeks' crutches lay forgotten on the ground, not too far away from them the shards of a mug with a dark stain spreading from them, looking like coffee.

When Kensi's bare feet touched the street in front of their safe house, she could only see the back lights of a huge black car that was speeding away, probably breaking every Californian law with that tempo. Kensi knew that it was hopeless but she emptied her clip trying to hit the tires or at least the windows of the car nevertheless. The car turned around one last corner towards the rising sun and Kensi knew it was a lost cause. Her partner was gone.

* * *

Eric and Nell had just stepped through the automatic door at ops and put their headsets in, when Kensi called.

"Eric, we're looking for a black SUV, no license plate, driving with too high tempo eastbound of my position," the two heard her rushed voice.

"From where do you call, Kensi? What's going on?"

Eric was already typing the parameters in Kaleidoscope, but he needed an area he could search in, or it would take forever until he had results. He could have just located Kensi's cell phone, but this way it was easier and probably faster, too.

"I'm at the safe house. Someone just kidnapped Deeks."

There was anger audible in her voice, but no trace of resignation or desperation.

Nell's eyes widened for a second and a scared expression settled on her face. "I'll call Sam and Callen."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Sam, Callen and Kensi were standing in the living room of the safe house – or rather former safe house. Kensi had told the two of them what had happened and wasn't able to keep her anger against herself hidden. Even if Sam and Callen had told her over and over that this wasn't her fault, she felt responsible for his kidnapping. She came across that word several times. Kidnapping.

"Why didn't they just kill him?" Kensi mumbled and got the attention of the other two agents. "I mean, they're scared that Deeks saw something important, right? Well, if they wouldn't want him to spill the information, why did they abduct and not kill him right away?"

Sam narrowed his eyes and tried to follow Kensi's line of thought. "It would only make sense if they didn't know what information he has."

"It isn't the Sanchez Cartel. It has to be the buyers of the weapons, the ones that fled from the wreck yard. They hope that Deeks saw the dates of the other shipments so that they can get the arms without having to pay for them!" Callen ended the train of thought and pulled his cell from his pocket.

"Eric, do we know who bought the weapons when we interfered?"

Callen heard some typing before Eric answered. "Another cartel under the control of Stephen Wells, American, taken into custody multiple times for illegal gun possession. Seems like he sold the guns to radical groups."

"Any idea where they have their HQ or any place where they could hold Deeks?"

"There is nothing in the reports, but I'll check the names of the known cartel members and see if there is anything suspicious. But there is one thing you should know: Wells has one hell of a hacker within his group. He hacked into the traffic cameras and digitally followed Kensi's car to the safe house. That's the way they knew where Deeks was."

"What about you? Were you able to follow the car?"

"Nell and I gave our best, but we lost him. I promise we'll keep looking, though."

"Thanks." Callen hung up and looked at Kensi and his partner.

"Buyer's called Stephen Wells; he has quite an impressive criminal record. Eric and Nell are searching for buildings that Deeks could be held in and they keep looking for the SUV," he stopped for a second before trying to silence his teammates' consciousness's, "He knows a hacker who was able to follow our cars to the safe house. It isn't our fault that the location was blown."

Callen's gaze wandered through the messy living room und eventually stopped at the sight of Kensi, who was out of her pyjama by now, but looked utterly out of place.

"I'd say we all drive back to OSP; there is nothing we can do here."

Kensi and Sam nodded; relieved to get out of the house and maybe do something that would help them to find Deeks.

* * *

Pain radiated through his body when he came to. That was the first thing he noticed. Then the cold floor he was lying on, then that his hands were tied behind his back.

_How the hell did I get here?_

He could find no answer to that question. He remembered being in the safe house with Kensi and then everything was blurred. Deeks shook his head and tried to collect his thoughts but the only thing he got out of that was a nasty headache that didn't help his situation. He was lying on his right side and by that also on his injured knee what he realized shortly before he felt the pain. Deeks came to life and sat up as fast as possible, trying to get weight off of the limb, and then looked around, hoping to find a distraction from the throbbing. The room he was being held in had simple walls without any color and only one window near the high ceiling, but there was no light shining through it.

Either it was really, really dirty or the sun was still rising. If the sun was still rising, he couldn't have lost consciousness for too long. When his eyes had adjusted to the twilight, Deeks saw something on the supposedly bland walls that turned his blood to ice. About two and a half meters above the ground, there were manacles on the wall. Without having to think about it, Deeks knew that they were made to restrain someone with spread arms by their wrists, hanging just so high that the toes wouldn't touch the ground.

Before the detective had a chance to dread was going to happen to him, he heard how several steps neared the door and then a key turning in it. Deeks swallowed his fear, stuffing it to the back of his head and tried to steel himself for the coming minutes, possibly even hours – he was not going to show the men his fear; he was not going to give them that satisfaction.

His hands still tied behind his back, his knee throbbing like hell and mentally absent, Deeks was in no position to defend himself and the two men who came in knew that. They switched on a light and Deeks tried to adjust to it while memorizing everything he could – anything could be of help to get the guys once he got out – if he ever got out, that is. His vision still blurry from the sudden change of light, Deeks never saw the first punch coming that opened a cut on his cheek and had warm blood running down his face. Another two strikes later, Deeks was dazed enough to let himself get dragged to his feet and before even realizing what was happening, he found himself chained to the wall, upper body free from clothing. It was exactly how Deeks imagined it to be; his wrists were in the handcuffs above his head, all of his weight hanging on his arms and shoulders as his toes barely touched the ground. It already hurt like hell.

He was with his back to his kidnappers and by that wasn't able to see what was going to happen, but the evil laugh from one of the men let him know that it was going to hurt.

"It is really easy, detective. We ask questions, you answer and you die fast. If you don't answer… well, let's say I can be very persuasive," a deep voice explained to him with a slight accent.

"I'm not going to tell you anything," Deeks said nonchalantly and heard the crack of a whip the moment he felt the burning pain on his back. He gritted his teeth and suppressed a grunt.

_Do not show your fear._

"What did you see on the laptop?" the same voice demanded, and Deeks could swear that he could hear anticipation in it.

Wait a minute - the men didn't know what he saw on the laptop? Weren't they from the cartel Julio is a member of? He couldn't show them his confusion. If they figured out that he in fact did not know a single thing from that laptop, that he didn't even remember looking at it, they would just kill him faster. Deeks laughed and knew that he was provoking his torturer. The faster he blacked out, the faster they would stop flicking that whip, at least he hoped so. Result of that equation was that Deeks needed a very angry opponent who didn't get what he wanted to.

"Go to hell."

No matter how often they asked him something, they always got a snarky retort, resulting in more powerful whips until Deeks could swear that the next ones would slice the flesh from his bones. When it felt as if his whole back was on fire, he finally gave in to the darkness and went slack in his chains.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I said that the bad guys were going to catch up, didn't I? Sooooo, how'd you like it? I'd certainly like to know, but no pressure :D**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Heads up, a bit more torture to come :) I'm sorry it's so short, but I'm still incredibly busy and I'm flying to Rome with my chemistry class tomorrow morning (4.45 am - what the hell?!)... As we're going to live together with nuns, there will be no internet, so I can't translate and that means that you probably won't get another chapter next weekend... So sorry!**

**Still, enjoy this one!**

* * *

Kensi, Sam and Callen all but ran through the doors of OSP and up the stairs to get to Eric and Nell, both never having left their computers that day. Now that they knew that there obviously were two cartels, they had the double amount of work plus the kidnapping of Deeks. Two analysts were just not enough right now.

"Guys, what do you have?" Callen asked as soon as he had stepped through the automatic doors. His professionalism was long gone, it had become a tad bit too personal for his liking.

"Nothing new about where Deeks may be held. We're trying to locate them through the hacker, but he is really good, so he's really good at covering his tracks, too…. And of course we still have Kaleidoscope running," Eric answered without even looking up, his fingers still frantically typing.

"But," Nell said, "Julio called us. Hernando Sanchez called up a meeting to discuss the nest shipment and according to Julio all of the important people will be there."

Sam took a deep breath. That was at least something they could work with. "When?"

"This afternoon, 1600 hours. He called it last minute so that no one who isn't supposed to know about the meeting really doesn't know. Sanchez is careful since we busted the deal on the wrecking yard."

Nell held her tablet clutched in both of her hands, permanently walking up and down in front of the huge screen. She knew that the news, as positive as they might be, would not be taken very well.

"This afternoon?" Kensi asked, disbelief visible on her face. It was no problem to have a strike team ready until then as there were still some hours for preparation left, but there was something else bugging her, " But, what if you know until then where Deeks is being held? We need to be ready to get him out of wherever he is! We can't wait until we get back from busting a cartel!"

She would most certainly not arrest some cartel members when her partner could be freed the exact same time.

"Kensi, Deeks is a cop. He is trained to be able to take something. The weapons are priority right now, then comes Deeks," Callen stated. He had to remain the rational part of the group, the part that wasn't lead by feelings, by a _thing_. Of course he didn't want Deeks suffering for a minute longer than the time they needed to find him, but those arms deals were huge. G was sure that Deeks would decide for stopping the cartel and against saving himself, if it was his decision to make.

"Exactly that is the point, Callen! He is a cop, not an agent! He is not trained to endure hours and hours of torture! Doesn't he mean anything to you?" Kensi's voice had raised the last few words, fists clenched at her sides. She was undiscerning, she knew that. Callen was right, but it was her partner they were talking about!

"Of course he means something to me, Kensi! But Deeks is tough, he'll make it. Even if he only does so to still be able to banter with you. He is not weak and you know that. I promise you we'll get him back, but we also have to stop the arms trafficking, " G said in a gentle tone and saw Kensi trying to shut off her heart and turn on the rational part of her brain.

"Miss Blye, Mr. Callen is right, in everything, " Hetty's voice declared. All of the agents turned around, no one aware that she even had come to join them.

"I know that it is a hard decision that seems wrong, no matter how you look at it. I can only offer a compromise if that would put your conscience at ease. We have a team ready to take down the cartel, you're going to lead it, Mr. Callen. Another team will be at stand-by to get Mr. Deeks as soon as his location is known to us. If we should gather that information before you're going after Sanchez, we switch teams and you'll get Mr. Deeks back."

Hetty got grateful glances from five different directions, she - as always – seemed to have the most proper plan.

"Thanks, Hetty," Kensi whispered before she took off to the shooting range.

* * *

The cold that seemed to have taken over his body was what rose Deeks from unconsciousness. He was lying on his stomach and slowly opened his eyes. His head was still hurting like hell so that he was sure by now that he had been knocked out with a blast to the head when he had been taken. His blue hoodie was lying a few meters away and Deeks started to crawl towards it, trying not to re-open the cuts on his back. His injured knee was dragged over the rough ground and some of the cuts popped open despite his efforts. When Deeks had finally reached his hoodie, he was drenched in sweat and panting with pain.

He leaned his head back, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The moment the men noticed that he was back to the land of the living, they would come back and start torturing him again, there was no doubt about that. So, he needed to be prepared.

He wondered what his team was doing right now?

Deeks could only hope that they were looking for him and somehow had some trace to follow, some evidence that lead them to him.

He licked his dry lips and longed for water. He could not exactly tell for how long he already had been here, but his gut feeling told him that it must have been about six hours, his theory confirmed by the window through which the bright midday sun was shining by now.

For the second time during his short time of captivity, Deeks heard steps in front of the door and he hauled himself to his feet as fast possible.

Last time he hadn't been prepared for what came, this time it should be different. Putting as minimal weight as possible on his right leg, Deeks stood next to the door so that at least one punch should hit its target. The helplessness he experienced the last few days had made him angry and his situation right now wasn't helping either. He concentrated on that anger as hard as he could when the door opened and someone stepped into the room. Before Deeks even thought properly about it, his fist had already connected with the chin of a man and he felt the jaw popping from its socket. A grin spilt Deeks' face when the bone shifted. Unfortunately, there was one thing Deeks didn't know; this time there were more than two men.

One kick against his injured knee had him groaning on the ground where more kicks were hailing down on him. All of the air in his lungs was sucked out and when he felt several rips breaking, he couldn't suppress tears streaming into his eyes.

Deeks was grateful for the kick against his head that left him unconscious.

* * *

Kensi had given up shooting at target papers an hour ago and instead decided to beat the hell out of one of the punching bags. She knew that she couldn't burn herself out too much, she still had to be ready to strike anytime – either to rescue her partner or to destroy a cartel.

When thinking of Deeks, Kensi pictured the injuries he could have by now what made her punches even harder. She was so angry, deep in thought and fixed on her pounding fists that she didn't notice Callen who came walking toward her.

"It isn't your fault, Kensi."

She jumped visibly and threw a punch in the direction of the voice from pure reflex. G blocked her stroke with his forearm and then grabbed her wrist.

"Did you hear that? It is not your fault." His blue eyes locked in her dark ones and Kensi finally lowered her still raised fists.

"That tells me a certain G Callen who always blames himself for everything…," Kensi smiled briefly, then she huffed, " I know that I probably couldn't have prevented anything but still…Deeks doesn't deserve this. No one does."

Dom floated around in her head. She had already had held him in her arms and then he had just been shot. That mustn't happen again with Deeks, she could not lose another partner, her best friend.

Callen practically saw what was going on inside of Kensi's head and fastened his grip around her wrist a bit more. "Deeks isn't Dom. We will find him. And then we'll bring him home," he said in such a strong voice that there was no room left for arguing.

* * *

Time seemed to lengthen like bubble gum. It slowly became afternoon without any news about Deeks. Eric and Nell did their best in finding the black SUV but the men had kept changing the cars like they'd done before. Kensi got more nervous with every minute that passed. She wanted to be the one freeing her partner. She wanted to be the one hugging him and finding him unscathed. _She_ and not some other team.

Unfortunately it looked a lot like _the other team_ at the moment.

Even if Julio still hadn't called to give them the rendezvous point, it was time for the agents to get themselves ready. They would follow the GPS of the tacking device, which was still in Julio's shoe, for the start and then, when they knew where the meeting would take place, surround it.

Sam, Callen and Kensi strapped on their Kevlar vests and stored several guns at their thighs and hips.

"Let's hope that we will get the information for the rest of the shipments," Sam said and tried to soothe the frustration of his colleagues at least a bit.

Kensi looked at him unbelievingly and just wanted to retort something, when the screen in the weapon's room came to life and showed a visibly excited Eric.

"Guys, switch teams, Nell and I have something!"

* * *

**A/N: Before I forget it, thanks to my wonderful beta and you guys for sticking with the story, you're awesome!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hey guys! So, I'm back from Rome and back to you again :) Disclaimer as usual...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Nell and Eric sat in front of their computer screens, as tense as no one had seen them in a long time. They had finally, finally managed to follow the car of the kidnappers virtually to a warehouse and it hadn't been made easy for the two of them; the men had changed cars five times. Nell and Eric had been forced to change parameters five times, had to fear for it to work five times and had to watch how an unconscious Deeks had been pulled from one car into another five times. They hadn't been able to see in what condition he was, except for the obviously reopened cut on his temple and the blood trail it left, and that didn't calm their nerves at all.

There were only very few cameras installed near the warehouse, one fortunately at an angle that it was possible to keep an eye on the entry. Since the two analysts had watched the latest car of the men – a green VW Bulli – driving towards the warehouse, they had looked over the next hours in fast forward and were relieved to see that the Bulli hadn't come out again. There were no other entries or exits so that the men of Stephen Wells and Deeks could not have left the warehouse.

Not even thirty seconds after Eric and Nell had told Sam, Callen and Kensi about their triumph, the agents stood before them in Ops, complete with Kevlar and guns strapped to seemingly every body part, several emotions washing over their faces – fear, hope, relief, tenseness and anger. Eric swallowed when he looked into Callen's determined face and then hastily told him the address of the warehouse, sending it to the agents' phones in the same second.

* * *

Callen had his cell phone pressed to his ear, talking to the other team that now was responsible for arresting the members of the Sanchez Cartel and gaining the information about the next shipments of weapons. The call was over only shortly after it had started, the last words a promise of the other agent to inform Callen immediately if the arrests had been successful.

There were several agents in front of the Spanish Mission who were going to support Sam, Kensi and Callen trying to rescue Deeks. Without wasting another valuable second, all of the agents jumped more or less into the cars that had been made ready for them and took off in direction of the address Eric had sent them.

Hetty watched her agents from the safe distance of her desk and placed her cup of tea next to her.

"Bring him home safely, Mr Callen," she whispered to herself.

* * *

"Eric, will they see us when we drive onto the compound?" Kensi asked while she took the safety off her gun. They still had a bit to drive until they got to the warehouse, but she wasn't taking any risks now.

Kensi Blye was officially pissed off and completely concerned. That was a combination you didn't get often, but when you did – you had to be really careful.

"I can try to hack into their system and freeze the video feed of the camera without it being noticed, but they have one of the best hackers I've ever seen… I'll see what I can do," Eric answered and Kensi could picture him, swinging himself into the comfy chair, cracking his fingers before typing away on his keys.

"You'll pull it off."

She heard Eric smiling and then only his typing. "I'll get back to you as soon as it's safe for you to go nearer than eight-hundred meters."

Kensi closed the connection over the comm and pushed her hair back before quickly making a ponytail to keep it out of the way. She was sitting in the back of the white van which they used for situations like this. Sam and Callen had been quiet for a while now and Kensi knew all too well what was going through their heads right now. She asked herself the same questions over and over again.

_How is Deeks? How badly is he injured? What did the men do to him? Did they reach him in time? Was he even still alive?_

Kensi shook her head and tried to get the thoughts out of her head, she didn't need more distractions than she already had. The thoughts completely left her head when Callen stopped the van. She had to try and mentally prepare herself for the following minutes. Adrenaline coursed through her body and made her more aware of her surroundings, but surprisingly not more nervous. Actually, it was quite the opposite; Kensi's heartbeat slowed, and she felt like she got more oxygen with every breath she took. It was probably the sniper training that got the better of her, it was essential that you had a calm heartbeat, took a deep breath, to make the perfect shot. Her eyes scanned the area surrounding the warehouse for any kind of danger and possible hide-outs, if something went south. It was only now that she noticed the irony.

"A warehouse," she huffed and gained the attention of her colleagues with that.

"What did you say?" Sam asked and turned a bit to look at her.

"A warehouse. It's like a bad thriller. Where is someone held and tortured? In a deserted warehouse. How cliché is that?"

Before Sam or Callen could answer that bitter statement, it crackled in their ears and Eric's voice made its way to them.

"Freeze frame is activated, guys, you're all clear to go in." The triumph in his voice couldn't be missed and if it weren't for Deeks' life hanging in the balance, the agents surely would have made a compliment.

Just before Callen started the engine and by that gave the sign to go for the other agents in the vehicles behind them, Nell spoke up, her voice soft and pleading, "Get him out of there, okay?"

"We will, Nell," with those words, Callen sped onto the sandy ground surrounding the warehouse.

* * *

Screaming and shooting ripped him from the darkness he would like to get back into so much. When he was unconscious, there was no pain, no unwanted memories. Now, back to the land of the living, the events of the past days flooded though him with such a force that left him gasping for air, eyes wide open and desperately trying to get his heart rate back under control. It took him several seconds until he finally realized that he knew the screaming voices. The voices screaming_his_name.

Somehow his colleagues had actually managed to find him.

Still, Deeks felt no relief whatsoever. The anger that had escorted him the last several days was raging beneath the surface now more than ever before. He would need to get back to the hospital, wouldn't be allowed to do anything, again, and would need some sort of babysitter, again. Not that he didn't appreciate the concern of his colleagues but that really was not what he needed right now. Part ignoring, part pushing through the pain that he felt just everywhere, he got to his feet, hobbled to the steel door and started banging his fists against it.

"Kensi, get me out of here!"

Deeks himself was surprised about the hardness of his voice. He knew that there was no way his partner could be blamed for him being held in this hellhole, but still he directed his anger towards her. It was time for him to get near a punching bag he could beat the crap out of, Deeks thought and tried to keep his rising temper in check.

"Kensi!"

* * *

There was nothing pleading in his voice, not the warmth that was always there. Even if Kensi would never admit it, it scared her. She reassured herself that someone had her back with a last glance over her shoulder before she strode to the door behind which she had heard Deeks' voice.

"Deeks, step back from the door, I'm coming in," Kensi said in a soft tone.

She waited some seconds before she turned the key that had been left behind in the lock. Her foot kicked against the door, the momentum swinging it until it hit the wall, and Kensi cleared the room, before she lowered her weapon and turned to face her partner.

"Deeks! Are you okay?" Kensi asked him and did a quick visual scan of his injuries. The cut on his temple was open again, she guessed that the kidnappers had hit him there with the bat. He seemed okay otherwise, but Kensi couldn't be sure as the hoodie and jeans were hiding most of his body. Despite the wide jeans, she could make out the brace around his knee and was glad that he was standing on his two feet. Kensi searched his pacific blue eyes and waited for an answer, as he stormed out of the room, without another word.

"Deeks! Your knee! Just let me help you, you stubborn…." Kensi shouted and jogged up to him.

"I'm fine, Kensi," Deeks snapped at her and kept limping toward the exit of the warehouse he'd been held in. She huffed and watched him trying to get rid of the paramedics who had started to walk toward him.

Deeks finally agreed to let them take care of the cut but denied any other medical attention and most certainly denied to be brought to a hospital. If Kensi hadn't known her partner for the long time she did, she would have been worried to death by that statement, but after all these years, she probably knew better than him what was happening. He was in shock, but just pushed that aside, didn't even realize it. Instead of admitting his fear to himself, he was angry and frustrated, because it was easier for him to show those emotions. Kensi knew that he needed some room right now and that he wouldn't let anyone help him right now, just as she knew that she needed to be there when he eventually broke down. Until that moment came, there was nothing she could do except not taking anything personal that he said.

Kensi thanked the two paramedics and assured them to take care of Deeks, look after him and drive him to the hospital as soon as anything got even the slightest bit alarming. Deeks had strictly refused to get looked at properly so that no one could be sure what kind of injuries hid under his clothes.

"Guys, I'll drive with Deeks to my apartment," Kensi sighed in her comm and walked to the white van with which they had come here, Deeks already sitting on the passenger seat.

Her apartment was the only place except for the Spanish Mission they could go to, as Deeks' flat could still be under observation and the safe house was no longer safe.

"Okay, Kensi. We'll swing by as soon as we've cleaned up here," Callen's voice answered her and Kensi couldn't help but feel a bit relieved that it wasn't her who had to fill the countless reports that surely needed to be written.

"Okay."

Kensi got in the car and glanced at her partner, noticing the hard look on his face. It seemed like it was going to take some time until he was ready to deal with his true feelings. Deeks was stubbornly staring out of the window and Kensi wasn't able to not notice that his breathing was different from normal. It seemed like Deeks couldn't get enough air.

Although she knew that she probably wouldn't get an answer, she laid her hand on his arm and asked, "Deeks, you sure that everything is alright?"

Kensi felt him at first stiffen and then slightly shaking under her touch and she wondered what the men had done to him.

"I got you some fresh clothes; they're in the bag behind your seat."

After several more seconds, in which she didn't get an answer either, Kensi started the car and drove home. The little apartment that she had rented was located at the edge of the town, near the beach, and by that not too far away from the warehouse so that the drive was short. Deeks still hadn't said a word and that worried Kensi. He always had some sort of smart ass remark on his lips, no matter how bad the situation might be and he always – always – switched radio stations, several times.

Kensi pushed the hair that had found a way out of her ponytail from her forehead before she squeezed the shoulder of partner and got out of the van. She knew that he needed some time to think, that's why she wasn't surprised to hear the car door only after she had stepped into her apartment. Deeks hadn't accepted her offer to help him walking before in the warehouse but she still glanced over her shoulder to see if maybe he needed help now, only to see him walking towards her, his spare clothes in his hands and the face grim.

Kensi threw her keys into the little bowl standing on a small table next to the door. It wasn't by far the first time that Deeks was at her home so that she shuffled out of her shoes, threw them in some corner and then walked to the bathroom.

"I'll get a quick shower," she said over her shoulder and heard a second later how the door was closed with a bit more force than necessary and then some grumbling of Deeks.

* * *

**A/N: So, what do you think - Deeks can't actually be okay, can he? Well, I can promise that there is more whump to come... :) Stay tuned and maybe leave a review? :D**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: And here we go again :) Little thing I've got to get off my chest - Daniela Ruah is pregnant from Eric Olsen's brother while Eric's wife just gave birth to their first child? What?! That is what I call perfect timing :) **

**Yeah okay, I'm done.**

**Disclaimer as usual... sigh...**

* * *

Callen had just cuffed the last of Well's men and had brought them over to a waiting car when Eric's voice crackled in his ear.

"Callen, the other operation just ended. Thanks to the GPS device in Julio's shoes, we were able to locate the meeting point and arrest all of the men, including the ones in a high position. The cartel of Hernandez is now officially smashed."

Callen took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second - that was exactly what they'd been hoping for.

"And the next shipments of the weapons? Some are still open."

"We found a laptop and encrypted data on it. Nell and I are still decoding them, but it looks promising; there are dates, number of the weapons, prices and the meeting points. We'll have to go to the rendezvous points and just wait for the buyers to walk into the trap," Callen could literally hear Eric's grin when he recounted the events of the other op.

"That sounds good," he commented and already wanted to shut down the conversation, when he remembered something, "Hey, Eric? What about the hacker? In the end he wasn't as good as you, was he?"

"We arrested him, too. Well…," before Eric could say anything else, Nell's voice could be heard in the background. "Who could possibly be better than Eric?"

* * *

When Kensi got out of the shower, she just changed into some shorts and a too large shirt that still somehow pleased her physique. She was one of the women who could wear anything and she often had to show just that to trick a suspect.

Nevertheless, or maybe that was the reason why, she felt more comfortable in jeans and a shirt than in a dress most of the time.

Her hair was not pulled into a ponytail, already starting to curl slightly and the last drops of cool water from her hair ran down her back.

It was quiet in her apartment and Kensi sneaked into the living room, expecting to find a sleeping Deeks on her couch. When she rounded the corner, the agent saw that her carefulness had been in vain, Deeks was nowhere to be seen.

Kensi stopped in the middle of the room and took a deep breath. At first she thought that he had sneaked away, maybe to the beach, but then she heard muffled sounds from her little garden.

The door that lead from the kitchen to the backyard was open and the sun touched every angle of her cool kitchen. Judging by the sounds, Deeks was beating the living daylights out of her punching bag standing in her garden. Kensi smiled to herself and stepped onto the little patio she had, seeing it as a positive sign that Deeks let his feelings out by hitting her punching bag instead of just locking them away. When he had reached the point of physical exhaustion, it would be easier to let the tears fall, the shock settle in.

All in all she expected a battered but calming view, but what she got to see had her hurrying to her partner in a few steps.

Deeks was with his back to her, dressed in a grey shirt and another pair of jeans. The grey shirt was soaked with blood at the back, the texture completely full of blood so that Kensi couldn't even tell if it was just one wound that was bleeding, or several.

When she was two meters away from him, Kensi noticed that Deeks didn't wear any hand protection, the skin around his knuckles was bleeding by now. The closer she came, the more alarming detail she saw – also on the height of his injured knee, there was a dark red spot that could be seen growing steadily larger.

"Deeks!"

He was still beating the punching bag, showing no sign that he had even heard her voice.

Shoving her fear for him in the far corner of her mind, Kensi gripped his shoulders determinedly, and stepped in front of him in order to stop his frantic boxing. She could tell from the look in is eyes that he was far away with his mind, anywhere but here.

Deeks had at least stopped trying to hit the punching bag, his arms hanging loosely by his sides as he stood in her garden, looking completely lost. Kensi could finally see how he slowly allowed his feelings to take over and slung her arms around him when he started to shake.

It was only now that Deeks realized that Kensi was with him, holding him in her arms. Almost at the same moment, his body began to shake, the fear and shock from the last few hours catching up with him, so intense that he had trouble to keep standing.

The third thing he noticed was the pain. His right knee was throbbing and the cuts from the whip on his back were burning like fire. Deeks tried to inhale deeply and found himself unable to do that, only then remembering his broken ribs.

He could not breathe properly and that together with the effort of the boxing was too much for his body to take, dark spots appeared in his vision.

Kensi felt the body of her partner starting to go slack and she helped him to sit down on the soft grass. He still hadn't spoken a word but that wasn't necessary. Kensi was there for him and he knew it.

There he sat shaking in front of Kensi, trying to breathe at a regular speed as tears streamed down his face. It was the first time he cried for a very, very long time. He let his walls down and broke in front of his partner, but he still knew that it made him stronger and not weaker. Kensi encircled him again, not letting go until he had calmed down.

"Feel better now?" she mumbled, her face buried in his locks.

When she felt him nodding slightly, she pulled away from him, her thumb unconsciously wiping the last trace of the tears away.

"Kensi, I'm sorry, I…" Deeks started but was cut off immediately.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything, okay, Deeks? Partners are there for each other. I'm there for you," Kensi said in a strong voice, knowing that he never had something alike. He'd never known what family felt like.

A tiny smile came over his lips, a smile that warmed her heart.

"Thanks."

"Can I take a look at your back?" Kensi really didn't want to destroy the moment, but she was not only concerned about the mental health of her partner, but also of his physical one.

"Please, don't get worried. I'm afraid it doesn't look too appealing," Deeks stated and got rid of his shirt, teeth clenched together, trying not to think of Kensi sitting behind him.

He heard her sharp intake of air and tried to imagine what she had to be seeing right now. At some point, Deeks had stopped counting the lashes of the whip.

"Before you ask, it was a whip," Deeks forced past his lips.

Kensi was spared of an answer when the doorbell rang.

"Sam and Callen wanted to come over. Is that alright with you?" Kensi could imagine that Deeks didn't want the two to see him like this.

"It's okay," Deeks said and then asked, "Help me over to the sun lounger over there?"

Kensi helped him up as gently as she could and then led him to the lounger that stood in the shadow of a sun umbrella, before she got to her front door and opened it.

Callen and Sam were standing outside, as she had expected, their Kevlar vests no longer on their bodies, but otherwise dressed just like before – they had just driven right from the warehouse to Kensi.

"Hey, guys," Kensi said and let them in.

"What happened to your hands? Everything okay?" Sam asked with a glance at Kensi's bloody hands.

"It's not my blood."

"Deeks'?" Callen asked concerned and looked around in the open living room. "Where is he?"

"We're in the garden. I took a quick shower and then found him in the backyard, beating the hell out of my punching bag. Deeks beat his hands bloody and I think there's a lot more damage than that," Kensi explained and noticed the confused looks of her colleagues, "I didn't have time to get a good look at him, yet. He completely broke down a couple of minutes ago."

"No surprise there. We found a bloody whip. I don't wanna know what they did to him," Callen hissed and wasn't able to suppress his anger.

Deeks was part of his team and no one had the right to hurt his team. It had taken Callen everything to arrest the guys and not kill them right away. He knew that Sam felt the same. Even if he was the one who took the longest to get to know Deeks and find a way to deal with his methods, he had grown on him. One glance at his partner's face told Callen that he had been right about the mixed feelings, he could see anger as well as concern in Sam's eyes.

"He didn't want to go to the hospital at all costs and when he isn't hurt too badly, I want him to stay here," Kensi said and got a nod as response.

They all could understand that Deeks didn't want to get back into an area that was under surveillance twenty-four hours, especially not now when the cartel could no longer harm him.

"Where do you keep your first aid kit?" Sam asked and made a mental list of all the things they might need.

"Bathroom. I guess we'll need some wet towels to get the blood from his back," Kensi answered and stared after the two men when they walked in direction of her bathroom.

The agent inhaled deeply before returning to the garden, where Deeks was still sitting on the lounge, exactly as she had left him there.

"Hey. Sam and Callen are here," she said and dared to take a look at the open cuts on his back. "We'll patch you up as well as possible, but when there's something serious, you go to the hospital, okay?"

"Yeah, I guess it's better that way. I just don't want be so…," Deeks was searching for the right words and Kensi found them for him, "Locked in? I can understand that."

She laid a hand on his shoulder and then walked around the lounge to see him from the front. His whole chest and the area around his kidneys were covered in colorful bruises. She crouched down in front of him at an instant and forced him to look into her eyes.

"What did they do to you?"

"I tried to fight the second time they came. It didn't end too well for me, they must have mistaken me for a punching bag," Deeks tried to joke but ended up gasping for air when his chest exploded in pain at his try to laugh.

It took all of his will to suppress a cough, he didn't want Kensi to worry even more than she already did.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts? I'd love to hear them :) What the heck it is with Deeks' cough...? *evil grin again***

**And before I forget it, huge thanks to my amazing beta, for the fastest proof-reading in history!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Okay, I updated the beta'd version :) Sorry to everyone who had to read the one without proof reading, hope it wasn't too terrible :D  
**

* * *

Deeks was glad that Callen and Sam happened to step into the garden; hands full with bandages and wet towels, the moment Kensi opened her mouth to surely question him about the almost-cough.

"Hey, Deeks. Good to see you," Callen said sincerely and tried to hide his shock about the shape of the detective.

The first thing he had seen was the cuts on his back, then the colourful bruises that covered most of Deeks' chest.

Sam spared the courtesies, "I swear to you, if I get these bastards…" He took a deep breath and focused on pushing his anger to the side for now. It was more important to help Deeks, not to dwell on his revenge thoughts. "I'll try and clean the wounds on your back, okay? If it hurts too much, just tell me," Sam said to Deeks and started to wipe the blood off as carefully as he could. The cuts from the whip were countless, some of them several millimetres deep. "This could need some stitches," Sam stated, but started to tend to the wounds nevertheless.

In the meantime, Callen stepped next to Kensi who was still kneeing in front of Deeks.

"Are you able to get the jeans off?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the blood stain that Deeks hadn't even noticed yet.

_Right_, he remembered,_they kicked my knee_.

He cleared his throat, when the need to cough came back. His thorax was burning and he wasn't able to breathe properly because of his broken ribs, what made action quite painful. Deeks looked back up at Callen and got out of his pants with Kensi's help, revealing his newly bruised knee. Just like before, it was sutures that had bled; only this time some stitches were pulled completely.

"This could need some stitches, too," Callen sighed when he got rid of the brace and started to clean and redress the wound.

Kensi eyed Deeks suspiciously. She noticed that something wasn't right, that he hid some kind of injury. The fact that he didn't tell them about it, but instead suffered silently showed her how much he didn't want to go to the hospital and it broke her heart. Not paying attention to her colleagues who were just finishing the bandages, Kensi gave Deeks a once-over yet again when she saw him trying to suppress a cough. When she thought of it, his breathing seemed very shallow. Her eyes instantly wandered to parts of Deeks' chest that had been hit. The men surely hadn't been careful so that it was likely that some of his ribs were cracked, if not even broken.

"Are you getting enough air, Deeks?" she asked, a concerned frown forming on her face, and drew the attention of Callen and Sam who were finished with Deeks by now and just started packing the rest of the first aid kid back together.

Deeks looked at his partner and knew that she had seen through his act, but he still didn't want to admit it. "Sure. Why shouldn't I ge –"

This time, he wasn't able to suppress the cough that came and he convulsed in pain when his ribs protested against the movement. Deeks felt how strong hands steadied his shoulders as he desperately tried to suck in some air. His three colleagues, who were all standing close to him, exchanged a worried glance when Deeks' whole body shook from the cough.

"I'll go get a glass of water," Kensi offered and disappeared into her kitchen, while Callen took her place and kneeled in front of his injured friend.

"Try to take deep breaths," he said in a calming manner and felt his heart rate picking up when Deeks took his hand away from his mouth.

It was smeared with blood that had nothing to do with the abrasive burns on his knuckles. That was not good.

The coughing had stopped by now but Deeks still couldn't breathe properly and it felt like the amount of air he was able to get in his lungs was steadily becoming less. His chest burned every time Deeks took a breath and he looked at Callen, panicking, "I can't breathe."

Right now, he didn't care if he had to go back to the hospital; he just wanted to be able to breathe again. Deeks saw Callen and Sam exchange a quick glance before they changed positions.

Sam was, as a former SEAL, better trained in anything having to do with field medicine, although Callen had seen more than he ever wanted to, as well. He walked into the kitchen and gave Kensi a short version of what had happened, even as he was dialling 911. Meanwhile, Sam had his hands on his colleague's shoulders and talked to him soothingly. His first goal was to stabilize Deeks' breathing as well as possible and that meant that Deeks could not panic.

"Deeks? Listen to me. I know that breathing hurts right now, but I need you to breathe as deeply and as slowly as you can, alright?"

Deeks nodded and tried to take deeper breaths but that only had him coughing up more blood. Slowly but steadily, Deeks' body showed more and more signs that he was short of oxygen, which had Sam worrying even more. It seemed like one or several of the broken ribs had pierced the lung and had it collapsing in on itself bit by bit. The boxing hadn't been too good either, it was even possible that only through that movement, the bones had shifted and hurt the lung. Deeks was getting paler with every passing second and Sam wasn't able to tell whether it was the lack of oxygen, the blood loss or just the general stress of the last few days.

"Kensi?" he called in direction of the kitchen and tried to give Deeks a reassuring glance, trying not to show his concern, but his voice betrayed him.

Kensi immediately stepped in her garden and was at her partner's side at in instant, the glass of water standing long forgotten on the counter in the kitchen.

"Anything I can do?" she asked and Deeks couldn't help but notice the fear in her voice.

Kensi was never scared; at least she never showed it. He really had to look shitty for her to show it so openly.

"Yes, keep an eye on his heart rate," Sam answered and was well aware of the fact that the comment didn't help to soothe his colleagues at all.

* * *

Callen had made the 911 call by now and immediately turned to call Hetty, despite him knowing that she would be informed the second Deeks was in the hospital, as she was listed as his next of kin. She would probably take the news that one of her agents was practically on his way to the hospital better coming from him, than from some random nurse.

"Mr Callen. I take it that Mr Deeks isn't as well as he led us to believe?" Hetty answered the phone and Callen was easily able to hear worry in her normally controlled voice.

"He isn't well at all. The suture on his knee opened, he beat his knuckles bloody, his chest looks like a bear danced on it and his back is a mess of cuts from the whip we found. Sam thinks that his lungs might be injured because he isn't getting enough air. We initially didn't want him back in the hospital but let him stay with Kensi – you know, no surveillance 24/7 and no strict rules to follow, but he leaves us no choice. The ambulance is on its way," Callen filled Hetty in and then took a deep breath.

"Regarding that both of the cases have been closed and the reports have time until next week, I will meet you at the hospital, along with Mr Beale and Ms Jones," Hetty sighed and Callen could literally hear her gaining all the strength she had left.

"See you there."

* * *

Deeks sat in front of his colleagues, desperately trying to get some air, and Sam was able to see in his normally oh-so-blue eyes that the fact that his friends tried to calm him down, organize a transport to the hospital and medically help him as much as possible here, in Kensi's garden, was terrifying Deeks more than just a bit. They had been through so much together as a team and it wasn't easy to get them worked up, they even joked that Sam had no blood pressure, because he almost never lost his cool. Knowing this, the situation only seemed worse. It really wasn't easy to get Sam, or the rest of the team, this hectic.

Kensi grabbed Deeks' wrist and laid her index and middle finger on his vein, feeling the pulse beating beneath her finger tips, and then started to caress the back of his hand with her thumb, trying to soothe him. Sam glanced at her before taking a deep breath himself for the first time. He knew exactly that what he was about to do, would only increase Deeks' pain, but it was necessary. He gently took the chin of his friend so that he was forced to look him in the eyes.

"Deeks, listen to me, alright? I have to look and see if you broke any ribs, and if you did, I need to know which ones. To do that, I'm going to press on different places on your chest and as much as I'd like to tell you something different, I know it's going to hurt."

When Deeks heard that, he tried to steel himself for what was about to happen. It wasn't the first time he had broken some ribs so that he knew that one false movement hurt like hell. He definitely would love to not have to experience what it felt like when someone pressed fingers onto the broken bone.

"Let's get this over with," Deeks whispered and closed his eyes as Sam's thumb slowly wandered over his ribs.

It only took some seconds, before he found the first broken one. Deeks groaned and gritted his teeth while his hand clenched around Kensi's, who was still checking his pulse, which was, thanks to the pain Deeks was in, sped up. Callen stepped back into the garden, when his partner found the fourth broken rib and was greeted by a barely suppressed grunt of pain.

"The ambulance is on its way," he said and looked at his colleagues, concern clouding his eyes.

Deeks was sitting more or less slumped on the sun lounger – knee, hands and back covered in bandages, Kensi keeping an eye on his heart rate and Sam looking for cracked ribs.

"How does it look?" he asked in a hopefully soft voice, got behind Deeks and laid his hands on his shoulders, trying to give him strength.

"I count four broken ribs, two of them could have pierced the lung," Sam answered and glanced at Deeks' pale face.

His lips started to get blue and Sam wondered how long he could manage to stay conscious. The question was more or less answered by Kensi, who tightened her grip on Deeks' wrist.

"His pulse is getting faster."

The three agents knew that it only had been a question of time until Deeks would go into shock. Adding the pain and lack of oxygen, it was no wonder that his heart was beating faster and faster, but that really didn't help the situation.

Kensi's fear had been palpable and got even clearer when she pushed Deeks' hair from his forehead and murmured, "Stay awake, okay?"

As much as Deeks wanted to calm Kensi, he noticed how he grew steadily more dazed, how he could see the world around him less and less clear.

"I'm sorry, princess, but I think that won't work," he mumbled back, his eyelids starting to flutter.

"That is no option, Deeks. If you pass out on me, I'll kick your ass, okay?!" Kensi tried to threaten, but her voice lacked the strength.

What was going on with her? She normally wasn't easily distracted from her mission, and if it was only her plan to get the last donut. Marty Deeks had slowly wormed his way into her heart with his one liners and the surfer charm, and she didn't even realize it. He had to be sitting in front of her, dying, for her to acknowledge her feelings – how typical of her.

Deeks lost consciousness the second the EMTs rang the doorbell.

* * *

**A/N:Well, what can I say - you gave me over 100 amazing reviews! Thank you so much!  
**

**P.S.: Only because I reached the 100l doesn't mean you have to stop typing them... :D**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Thank you soooo much for the reviews! You guys are amazing! :))**

**This one is a little bit shorter but it was such a cute ending I just had to cut it there...**

**As always huge thanks to my beta kensi54382 and nope, I still don't own a thing :))**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The next minutes just flew by for Kensi. She watched how the EMTs quickly checked her partner, how the obvious injuries were noted. She just stood there, when they rammed a needle into his chest to get the air out so that Deeks could breathe again. Her world only started to spin again, when Deeks lay safely on the gurney and was being transported out of her garden. He had to be stable, then, didn't he? At least he had to be stable enough to be transported.

Without thinking of Sam and Callen who were talking to the paramedics and gave them necessary information, Kensi closed the space between her and her partner, grabbed his hand and then said – in such a strong voice that left no room for arguing -, "I'll ride along."

If the paramedics had intended to protest, one glare from all three of the agents together shut them up.

"We'll follow you, Kensi. Hetty, Nell and Eric are going to meet us in the hospital," Callen said and ignored the surprised glances he got from his colleagues who still didn't know about the phone call between Hetty and him – now wasn't the time for explanations.

"Okay," with that word, Kensi disappeared into the back of the ambulance, her hand still closed around Deeks'. It was the second time in a week that she was sitting like that next to her unconscious partner in an ambulance. She would so kick his ass if he made a habit of that.

Her thumb kept rubbing soothing patterns on the back of Deeks' hand, the pressure just enough to let him know she was there, with him. The EMTs worked the whole way to the hospital on her partner, looking at the wounds beneath the bandages the agents had applied, checking his blood pressure and his heart rate. Kensi didn't have an eye for that. Her mismatched eyes were trained on his face, half covered by the oxygen mask, trying in vain to ignore the reopened cut on his temple.

Kensi noticed that they had arrived at the hospital, only when someone pulled at the gurney and by that at her hand. Without even thinking about what she was doing, Kensi straightened and kept the pace of the gurney, the doors of the emergency room shutting behind her and once again, she was in the too sterile rooms of a hospital. Deeks' gurney disappeared behind the doors of a treatment room and Kensi needed a moment to understand why she wasn't with him in that room. Only then she registered the hands on her biceps, obviously stopping her from storming after her partner.

Kensi stared at the doors Deeks had vanished behind and when she was absolutely sure that nothing would let the hands disappear from her arms, she tried to focus her thoughts on the here and now. Somebody was talking to her, probably the same person who was holding on to her. Kensi shook her head to get it clear and finally understood what was whispered in her ear.

"He'll make it, Kensi, trust me. Deeks won't let us down like that."

Kensi closed her eyes for a second, took a deep breath and then turned to face Callen.

* * *

Callen didn't know how often he had whispered the words until Kensi finally seemed to understand him. She turned around, her brown eyes opened so widely, she looked like a scared deer. He loosened his grip around her arms and then just hugged her tightly. Kensi Blye was no fan of feelings and showing them openly was completely against her principles, Callen knew that. He also knew that something had changed in Kensi - that Deeks had somehow managed to get her to open up more and more. That was the only reason why Callen dared to hug her in public, only some months, maybe even some weeks ago, hugging Kensi would have left him with her elbow in his stomach, even if she were to be in the condition she was now – it wouldn't have mattered.

Callen noticed how Kensi took some shaky breaths before she collected her thoughts and he released his hug, but left one arm around her shoulders, showing support.

"The rest of the guys are in the waiting room," he said and became his answer to the implied question when Kensi started walking.

The two agents stepped into the waiting area and were greeted with the all too welcome smell of coffee.

"We thought that we would have to wait some time to get answers so it seemed like a good idea to spend that time drinking coffee," Sam said and gave a cup of the steaming hot drink to Callen and Kensi each.

"Thanks, Sam," Kensi sighed and sunk onto the uncomfortable chair next to Nell.

The petite analyst also held a cup of coffee in one of her hands, the other encircled with Eric's larger one. Hetty was sitting next to Eric, obviously a tea instead of coffee in her hand, looking ten years older than she actually was. The thought of one of her agents lying in a hospital and that it was possibly that said agent wouldn't make it – it wasn't one of those thoughts you can get used to, at least she hadn't managed to, until now, after countless years of working for NCIS.

Despite her gloomy thoughts, Hetty put on one of her most confident faces and looked into Kensi's eyes, "Deeks is strong, he has proved that more than one time. Do not abandon hope, Ms. Blye."

* * *

Kensi didn't abandon hope, like Hetty had said. Just like the rest of the team didn't. The doctors only had to repair the damage done to Deeks' lung and he should be, at least physically, on the safe side. The two shots to the chest had been more dangerous; they could have torn his lung completely or even hit his heart – so, this was a piece of a cake, right?

The image of Deeks sitting in her backyard, slumped and bloody all over, had burned itself into Kensi's mind. How much could a human take, before he broke? Deeks' nightmares, his whole childhood, his working for the LAPD and NCIS, the injuries coming along that line of work, the shot to his knee and then his abduction together with the torture – especially the torture. He had been severely beaten, and they had found the whip, just thinking of what could have happened made her sick. What maybe even had happened. This was one of the moments Kensi wished to have Nate back from wherever he was right now. She actually thought that Deeks felt like he was part of the team by now, even more so because of the solidarity of the last couple of days and that they could help him through it together – but who knew how it looked inside of him, how he felt about everything?

He couldn't come out of this mentally unscathed. That was just impossible, it was too much. Kensi just hoped that the events of the last week didn't have him reaching his breaking point. She looked up from her coffee and let her gaze wander over the people in the waiting area, surrounding her. They were a team, a family – they wouldn't let Deeks allow losing himself. Wouldn't allow that he bottled everything up and locked himself away from everyone, should he try that. Kensi lightly shook her head, she didn't think that he would just shut up and maybe even get depressed. Why she thought so? He had talked to Callen, had let her into his nightmares. He was no longer the little boy who only had the weapon his best friend had given him for his protection. Deeks had found a family in the team, just like Callen and Kensi had. A soft smile tucked at the corners of Kensi's lips, despite the tense situation. Everything was going to be okay, she was sure of that.

* * *

**A/N: Too much? From the reviews I guess that you rather enjoy that kind of Densi-feelings, and I assure you, it will get even more cheesy... god, I'm ****_so_**** out of my comfort zone when it comes to romance... :)) **

**See you next weekend!**


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